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Radiological protection against exposure to naturally occurring radioactive material

A large effort is under way at a national and international level to assess exposure to the naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM) and to develop strategies to address existing situations that give rise to exposures. The new International Basic Safety Standards (the BSS) published by the IAEA in 2014 provides requirements reflecting the concept of planned, existing, and emergency exposure situations. This concept is yet to be incorporated in the national standards. Exposure to natural sources, in general, is subject to the requirements for existing exposure situations with some exceptions to be considered as planned exposure situations. Several radiation protection challenges exist for controlling exposures to NORM including concerns on regulatory approaches, diverse nature of the industries, and classification as either existing exposure situations or planned exposure situations, optimization using reference levels or dose constraints, and management of NORM residues and wastes. A review of the current situation on radiological protection applicable to NORM is outlined.