Working level

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Working level (WL) is a historical unit of concentration of radioactive decay products of radon, applied to uranium mining environment. [1] One working level refers to the concentration of short-lived decay products of radon in equilibrium with 3,700 Bq/m3 (100 pCi/L) in air. These decay products would emit 1.3 × 105 MeV in complete decay. [2] The Nuclear Regulatory Commission uses this definition. [3]

Working level month (WLM) is a closely related quantity, referring to exposure to one working level for 170 hours per month. This comes from assuming a 40-hour work week.

In 2002, the NRC regulations limited exposure in mines to 0.3 WL, which was comparable with the standards of International Commission on Radiological Protection at the time. [2]

References

  1. ↑ Vaillant, Ludovic; Bataille, Céline (September 2012). "Management of radon: a review of ICRP recommendations". Journal of Radiological Protection. 32 (3): R3. Bibcode:2012JRP....32R...1V. doi:10.1088/0952-4746/32/3/R1. PMID   22809956. S2CID   2423305.
  2. 1 2 Shapiro, Jacob (June 2002). Radiation Protection: A Guide for Scientists, Regulators, and Physicians (4th ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 444. ISBN   9780674007406 . Retrieved September 16, 2016.
  3. ↑ "NRC Regulations Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 20.1003". United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Retrieved 16 September 2016.


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