Critique of the current state of radiation standards regulations for the nuclear power industry

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission's guidance on meeting ALAP for nuclear reactors (10CFR50, Appendix I) as being implemented and the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed Radiation Protection Standards for the Uranium Fuel Cycle are critically examined. NRC's proposed value of $1000 or a man-rem appears to be too high and to have little effect on effluent control system design, as compared to maximum individual dose limits. EPA appears to have vastly overestimated the effect, based on population dose and health effect risks, and underestimated the cost of their proposed regulations to society. A return to industry regulation based on protection of maximally exposed individuals or critical groups and genetic protection for the population would probably achieve the same results as intended by those regulations based on population dose and at a much less cost to society