DCHAS-L Archives, Jul 2, 2026 - Re: [DCHAS-L] ALARA DOA at DOE and beyond?

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Subject: [DCHAS-L] ALARA DOA at DOE and beyond?

Date: Jul 1, 2026 23:11 UTC

Author: Rob Toreki <info**At_Symbol_Here**ILPI.COM>

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Date: Jul 3, 2026 11:34 UTC

Author: 000006c59248530b-dmarc-request**At_Symbol_Here**LISTS.PRINCETON.EDU

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Good afternoon Rob,

I too am curious what others may think. I do not consider myself an expert, but I am both interested and involved in nuclear safety, My understanding is that ALARA developed as a practical application of the linear no-threshold model, with the expectation that radiation exposure should be reduced whenever doing so was reasonable. However, the NRC has concluded that its implementation can become too subjective and inconsistent, particularly at very low dose levels.

The current proposal would replace ALARA terminology with a more defined, graded approach to managing and evaluating radiation doses. Existing worker and public dose limits would remain unchanged, and established radiation protection practices would not simply disappear. Training, monitoring, surveys, shielding, posting, and work planning still continues to grind on, as per their expectations. The main question I am looking forward to is how dose-reduction expectations below the regulatory limits are defined and enforced.

I have attached the NRC's one page summary, which provides a useful overview. The full proposed rule is available as ML26180A032 for anyone interested in the technical details.

Great question! I am interested in what others think as well. Again, I am only a recent addition to being one of the RSOs for my university, and by no means an expert, but I like to stay well informed for various aspects of what we do here on campus.

Isaac

On Thu, Jul 2, 2026 at 2:39 PM Info <info**At_Symbol_Here**ilpi.com> wrote:

I’m not a radiation safety person, but a lot of you on the list are, and I would really like to hear your expert opinions:

https://www.aip.org/fyi/nrc-mulls-changes-to-radiation-safety-requirements

I apparently missed that DOE has already dumped ALARA by executive order back in January: https://www.science.org/content/article/scientists-decry-trump-s-rush-loosen-radiation-exposure-standards

Best wishes,

Rob Toreki

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Isaac Atchison

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Abilene Christian University

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