7 Reasons Why Licensees Should Use the Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (poster session)

The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission’s (NRC’s) Radiation Exposure Information and Reporting System (REIRS) database provides facts regarding routine occupational exposures to radiation and radioactive materials that occur in connection with certain licensed activities. The NRC seeks to expand the REIRS program to be more accessible to and inclusive of Agreement State licensee occupational radiation exposure information to provide a more complete picture of NRC and Agreement State licensee radiation protection programs within the United States. To date, the radiation exposure reports submitted to the REIRS database have: (1) permitted the evaluation of trends from the viewpoint of the overall effectiveness of licensee’s As Low As Is Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) programs; (2) assisted in the evaluation of the radiological risk associated with certain categories of licensed activities; (3) been used for comparative analyses of radiation protection performance within the same licensee category or among different licensee categories; (4) permitted the evaluation of transient individuals who may affect dose distribution statistics through multiple counting; (5) provided facts for answering Congressional and administration inquiries and for responding to questions raised by the public; (6) been used to provide radiation exposure history reports to individuals who were exposed to radiation at licensed facilities; and (7) provided information that may be used to conduct epidemiological studies. The NRC has made available free software to licensees for their use to validate and submit their data using a secure web portal. The potential future inclusion of Agreement State licensee occupational exposure records to the REIRS database will allow regulators an opportunity for further research to evaluate trends in licensees’ radiation protection programs.