radiation exposure at work places caused by natural radionuclides

The new Euratom basic standards for radiological protection (guideline 96/29/Euratom of the Council of 13 May 1996 on the Determination of Basic Safety Standards for the protection of Health of Staff and Population against the Dangers by Ionizing radiation) contain in section 2 of the Title VII, which deals with exposure by natural radiation sources, a request to by the EC member states to determine by investigations or other appropriate means the work places which are of importance with regard to natural radiation exposure. Against the background of the implementation of these new Euratom basic standards, a work group named, radiation Exposure at Work Places by Natural Radionuclides was founded in November 1994 by the German Commission on Radiological protection. This working group was supposed to determine the possible exposure pathways by natural radiation, the extent of radiation exposure at work places for these exposure pathways, and the number of employed persons affected by the different exposure pathways and to compile the gained information in a survey. The following report gives a comprehensive survey on the results of these investigations and their relevance to radiological protection. (author)