A contribution to the solution of the problems raised by the application of the principle of protection optimization to nuclear plants

The radiological protection of populations and the environment rests on two main principles: the dose delivered to the individuals of the most exposed population group must remain below the dose limits set up by regulations; the doses must be kept as low as readly achievable social and economic considerations being taken into account. If the application of the former principle has now become routine work, the application of the latter one implying optimization calculus raises a number of difficult problems. In order to decide whether an exposure can be easily reduced, both the benefits of the reduction and its cost must be considered, which leads to undertake a differential analysis