Radioactive facilities classification criteria

Appropriate classification of radioactive facilities into groups of comparable risk constitutes one of the problems faced by most Regulatory Bodies. Regarding the radiological risk, the main facts to be considered are the radioactive inventory and the processes to which these radionuclides are subjected. Normally, operations are ruled by strict safety procedures. Thus, the total activity of the radionuclides existing in a given facility is the varying feature that defines its risk. In order to rely on a quantitative criterion and, considering that the Annual Limits of Intake are widely accepted references, an index based on these limits, to support decisions related to radioactive facilities, is proposed. (author)