Overview - Continued

DOE-STD-1121-98

procedures manual, a bioassay contingency plan for facilities having no routine monitoring program, a

dose management practices plan, an action plan for medical response, and a quality assurance plan.

Section 4 provides guidance on the design of an individual monitoring program. It gives specific

information on the investigation level (IL), the derived investigation level (DIL), methods of

measurement, frequency of bioassay measurement, supplementing routine bioassay programs (where the

DIL < the MDA), and performance specifications for a bioassay or service laboratory.

The different monitoring regimens of an individual monitoring program are discussed in Section 5.

These include a baseline bioassay used prior to starting radiological work, routine bioassay monitoring

conducted when workers are likely to receive 100 mrems committed effective dose equivalent in the

workplace, special bioassay monitoring conducted following incidents with potential for intake, and

bioassay monitoring conducted prior to termination of employment or end of potential for intake.

Section 6 contains the methods used to detect and confirm intakes of radioactive materials. The

section explains the use of either bioassay data or workplace monitoring data to confirm an intake.

Historically, workplace airborne radioactivity monitoring systems were put in place to detect inadvertent

loss of containment. They were not intended to provide data for evaluating intakes by workers from

exposures to airborne contamination. Thus, air monitors were located in areas with the highest potential

for detecting loss of containment rather than in those areas most commonly occupied by radiation

workers. Air monitoring data have not routinely been used to assess internal dose equivalent because of

the poor correlation between concentration of radionuclides in the air sampled by monitoring equipment

and the actual amount of radioactive material inhaled by workers. While bioassay monitoring data are

used almost exclusively in internal dosimetry programs, there may be instances where workplace air

monitoring data may be used to assess internal dose.

Following the confirmation of an intake of radioactive material, an evaluation of the resultant

internal dose is necessary. A discussion of the calculation of internal dose from bioassay data, and

recommendations on interpretation of the bioassay data and handling of statistical uncertainties are

presented in Section 7.

Section 8 covers management of total effective dose equivalent (TEDE) and cumulative TEDE or

lifetime occupational dose. Topics of discussion include routine occupational worker dose management,

management of dose from previous intakes (work restrictions), compliance with internal dose monitoring

requirements, control of dose to the embryo/fetus, minors, and students, and interface with external

dosimetry. Guidance is provided on using and recording total effective dose equivalent, lifetime dose

control, doses due to intakes prior to January 1, 1989, and statistical uncertainties. Also discussed are

elements of an accidental dose control program, including incident dose management, preparation for

incidents involving intakes, and internal dose control after an incident.

Section 9 presents a discussion of recommendations for recording and reporting internal doses.

Guidance is provided on a general philosophy of records and record keeping, reporting of preliminary

assessments of unplanned exposures, precision of internal dose assessments, long-term reevaluation of

intakes, practical reporting of internal doses, minimum recordable doses, recording of significant organ

and tissue doses, cumulative TEDE, and records associated with bioassay measurements and their

interpretation.

Section 10 includes a recommended scheme for medical response following a potential intake of

radioactive material. Guidance is provided on when and how to treat patients as well as the role of a