Here are my comments on the draft of Occupational Intakes of radionuclides Part III.
First a general overview of Part III, it’s a fundamental publication and well done. This report and the following are expected by the profession and will be very useful for the interpretation of bioassay data.
The part III needs to be performed for the performance criteria for radiobiossays for each radionuclide in the chapter individual monitoring.
I have divided my comments into 3 groups
A – Important comments for modifications or changes
B – Technical comments for a need of additional explanations
C – Editorial comments
A – Important comments for modifications or changes
In the whole document: the title of the Tables for individual monitoring are not identified (especially the detection limits).
In the whole document: there are confusions between typical detection limits and achievable detection limits. In the Part I, the criteria of the typical detection limits can be a range of values. For the achievable detection limits, it is obliged to be a value. In Part III, you can find a range for the achievable detection limits.
Page 26 line 1022 Ru-106 in Lung Counting
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 26 line 1025 modification of the text :”to calculate the Detection Limit (DL) in the lung”
Page 42 line 1710 Sb-124 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,1 Bq/l
Page 42 line 1710 Sb-124 in Lung Counting
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 43 line 1716 Sb-125 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,6 Bq/l
Page 48 line 2266 Te-129 in urine
Typical detection Limit : 331 Bq/l too precise 350 Bq/l
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2266 Te-129 in WBC
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2271 Te-131 in urine
Typical detection Limit : 428 Bq/l too precise 430 Bq/l
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2277 Te-131m in urine
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2277 Te-131m in WBC
Typical detection Limit : 395 Bq too precise 400 Bq
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2282 Te-132 in urine
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 48 line 2282 Te-132 in WBC
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 49 line 2288 Te-133m in urine
Typical detection Limit : 114 Bq/L too precise 120 Bq/L
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 49 line 2288 Te-133m in WBC
Typical detection Limit : 95 Bq too precise 100 Bq
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 80 line 3093 modification of the text :”Ge(HP) detectors,”
Page 81 line 3095 I-125 in urine by LSC
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 81 line 3095 I-125 in thyroid
Achievable detection Limit 10 Bq
Page 81 line 3101 modification of the text :”Ge(HP) detectors,”
Page 105 line 4047 Cs-134 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,1 Bq/L
Page 105 line 4047 Cs-134 in Lung monitoring
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 105 line 4050 modification of the text :”to calculate the Detection Limit (DL) in the lung”
Page 105 line 4057 Cs-137 in Lung monitoring
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 105 line 4060 modification of the text :”to calculate the Detection Limit (DL) in the lung
Page 120 line 4645 Ba-133 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,1 Bq/L
Page 133 line 5144 Ir-192 in urine
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 133 line 5144 Ir-192 in WBC
Typical detection Limit : 97 Bq too precise 100 Bq
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 133 line 5144 Ir-192 in Lung monitoring
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 133 line 5147 modification of the text :”to calculate the Detection Limit (DL) in the lung
Page 159 line 6279 Pb-210 in faeces
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 159 line 6279 Pb-210 in cranium
Typical detection Limit no value
Page 159 line 6279 Pb-210 in knee
Typical detection Limit no value
Page 160 line 6289 Pb-214 in lung counting
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 258 line 10242 Ra-226 in urine and faeces
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 258 line 10250 Ra-228 in urine
Typical detection Limit : 1Bq/L too precise 1000 mBq/L
Achievable detection Limit 0,01Bq/L too precise 100 mBq/L
Page 258 line 10250 Ra-228 in urine LSC
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 258 line 10250 Ra-228 in urine LSC
Typical detection Limit : 0,1Bq/24h IMPOSSIBLE
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 283 line 11298 Th-229 in urine
Achievable detection Limit no value
Page 283 line 11302 Th-230 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,1 mBq/L
Page 284 line 11340 Th-232 in urine
Achievable detection Limit 0,1 mBq/L
Page 285 line 11347 Th-234 in urine
Achievable detection Limit IMPOSSIBLE 0,4 Bq/L
Page 313 line 12471 U-234 in urine
Achievable detection Limit IMPOSSIBLE 0,1 mBq/L
Page 313 line 12478 U-235 in urine
Achievable detection Limit IMPOSSIBLE 0,1 mBq/L
Page 313 line 12478 U-235 in urine ICP/MS
Achievable detection Limit IMPOSSIBLE
Page 314 line 12488 U-238 in urine
Achievable detection Limit IMPOSSIBLE 0,1 mBq/L
Page 314 line 12488 U-238 in faeces
Typical detection Limit 1 mBq/24h
B – Technical comments for a need of additional explanations
For all elements and nuclides
There are no information on medical treatment, countermeasures, decorporating agents, dosage and effects on biokinetic models?
For URANIUM
For uranium and its compounds, the risk analysis is based on chemical toxicity or on radiation toxicity or depending on the transition between the two risks. The validity of currently recommended limits for uranium, which were derived from judgemental decisions on nephrotoxicity, simplistic biokinetic models of the human respiratory tract and outdated definitions of the specific activity of uranium is doubtful. The toxicity of uranium varies according to its chemical form and route of exposure. Uranium is unusual among the elements because it presents both chemical and radiological hazards. The chapter on URANIUM page 290 all following pages don’t present this item, chemical risk, transition between chemical and radiological risks? (the previous ICRP Publications 30, 54 etc..have made a minimum a warning paragraph or more explicit )
For THORIUM and URANIUM
Uranium and Thorium are naturally present in diet, at highly variable levels, leading to detectable activity in excreta, independently from occupational exposure to uranium. The interpretation of bioassay data from individual routine monitoring of workers occupationally exposed must therefore take this dietary intake into account to estimate doses. How take into account these contributions? Are there normal values? What’s the impact in term of dose?
For IODINE page 75 paragraphs 232 and 233, equation 5-1
There are many formulae for the transfer coefficient. What are the reasons to select this one? Is-it the best one? Need more explanations?
For RADON
No individual monitoring data are produced? What are the monitoring programme for workers?
12.5.2 and 12.5.3 need values in yellow colour (in the full version of the document). It’s difficult to validate?
C – Editorial comments
The names of some element are not in majuscule
Page 29 line 1154
Antimony: ANTIMONY
Page 46 line 1852
Tellurium: TELLURIUM
Page 136 line 5240
Lead: LEAD
Page 204 line 8155
Radon: RADON
Page 246 line 9750
Radium: RADIUM
Page 262 line 10385
Thorium: THORIUM