Population dose commitments due to radioactive releases from nuclear power plant sites in 1986

Population radiation dose commitments have been estimated from reported radionuclide releases from commercial power reactors operating during 1986. Fifty-year dose commitments for a one-year exposure from both liquid and atmospheric releases were calculated for four population groups (infant, child, teen-ager and adult) residing between 2 and 80 km from each of 66 reactor sites. This report tabulates the results of these calculations, showing the dose commitments for both water and airborne pathways for each age group and organ. Also included for each of the sites is a histogram showing the fraction of the total population within 2 to 80 km around each site receiving various average dose commitments from the airborne pathways. The total dose commitments (from both liquid and airborne pathways) for each site ranged from a high of 31 person-rem to a low of 0.0007 person-rem for the sites with plants operating throughout the year with an arithmetic mean of 1.7 person-rem. The total population dose for all sites was estimated at 110 person-rem for the 140 million people considered at risk. The site average individual dose commitment from all pathways ranged from a low of 2 x 10-6 mrem to a high of 0.02 mrem. No attempt was made in this study to determine the maximum dose commitment received by any one individual from the radionuclides released at any of the sites. 12 refs