India. Annex V [Approach for estimating potential exposures]

The Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, during 2014 published a guideline with an objective to provide criteria for establishing emergency preparedness and response plans at nuclear and radiation facilities to mitigate the radiological consequences following a nuclear accident or radiological emergency situation. The document also provides guidance for establishing operational criteria that include operational intervention levels (OILs), emergency action levels (EALs), specific observables and other indicators on the scene to facilitate the decision-making process during an emergency situation. For emergency response plans the reference dose levels for the public are set typically between an effective dose of 20 mSv and 100 mSv, expressed in terms of residual dose, which includes dose contributions via all exposure pathways. During the emergency phase, a reference level between 20 and 100 mSv per year should be used to implement protective actions driven by urgency, taking into account the prevailing conditions. The protection strategy should be optimized to reduce the exposures below the reference level. Once the emergency is over, a reference level for the existing exposure situations should be used between 1 and 20 mSv per year depending upon the situation. Effort should be taken to reduce the radiation exposure. The generic criteria both for avoiding or minimizing the deterministic effects and for reducing the stochastic risk for accidental exposures are given.