Safety levels of nuclear radiation have changed over the years making previous cleanups are now nuclear accidents

When the government says that a site was cleaned up in the past, remember that the safety standards of the time are nuclear accidents today. It depends on when it was cleaned up. For instance the Nuclear Fuel Rod plant in San Jose was cleaned up to mid 1950s standards when the Atomic Energy Commission was worried about people getting Radiation Poisoniing and not the long term effects of cancer. It is now The Plant shopping center and it has to be re-evaluated for contamination. All of these sites have to be re-examined to determine if people are in danger!

10 CFR § 20.1301 – Dose limits for individual members of the public.
§ 20.1301 Dose limits for individual members of the public.

• (a) Each licensee shall conduct operations so that –
  • (1) The total effective dose equivalent to individual members of the public from the licensed operation does not exceed 0.1 rem (1 mSv) in a year, exclusive of the dose contributions from background radiation, from any medical administration the individual has received, from exposure to individuals administered radioactive material and released under § 35.75, from voluntary participation in medical research programs, and from the licensee‘s disposal of radioactive material into sanitary sewerage in accordance with § 20.2003, and
  • (2) The dose in any unrestricted area from external sources, exclusive of the dose contributions from patients administered radioactive material and released in accordance with § 35.75, does not exceed 0.002 rem (0.02 millisievert) in any one hour.
• (b) If the licensee permits members of the public to have access to controlled areas, the limits for members of the public continue to apply to those individuals.
• (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a)(1) of this section, a licensee may permit visitors to an individual who cannot be released, under § 35.75, to receive a radiation dose greater than 0.1 rem (1 mSv) if –
  • (1) The radiation dose received does not exceed 0.5 rem (5 mSv); and
  • (2) The authorized user, as defined in 10 CFR Part 35, has determined before the visit that it is appropriate.
• (d) A licensee or license applicant may apply for prior NRC authorization to operate up to an annual dose limit for an individual member of the public of 0.5 rem (5 mSv). The licensee or license applicant shall include the following information in this application:
  • (1) Demonstration of the need for and the expected duration of operations in excess of the limit in paragraph (a) of this section;
  • (2) The licensee‘s program to assess and control dose within the 0.5 rem (5 mSv) annual limit; and
  • (3) The procedures to be followed to maintain the dose as low as is reasonably achievable.
• (e) In addition to the requirements of this part, a licensee subject to the provisions of EPA’s generally applicable environmental radiation standards in 40 CFR part 190 shall comply with those standards.
• (f) The Commission may impose additional restrictions on radiation levels in unrestricted areas and on the total quantity of radionuclides that a licensee may release in effluents in order to restrict the collective dose.
• [56 FR 23398, May 21, 1991, as amended at 60 FR 48625, Sept. 20, 1995; 62 FR 4133, Jan. 29, 1997; 67 FR 20370, Apr. 24, 2002; 67 FR 62872, Oct. 9, 2002]

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