The role of dose statistics in the development of occupational standards

This paper discusses the use of historical dose records in the development of occupational standards of radiation protection. Several uses are addressed. For example, it is known that the risks of exposure to ionising radiation vary with the age and sex of the individual. The paper considers various statistical distributions of doses from the perspective of risk. In addition, the possibility of establishing specific dose constraints for different occupational groups is considered, as it is clear from the dose distributions that some occupations can readily achieve much lower levels of exposure than others. Finally, the types of dose information and record keeping implied by the recent ICRP 1990 draft recommendations are considered. (author)