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Information System on Uranium Mining Exposures
(UMEX) An IAEA Survey of Global Uranium Mining and
Processing Occupational Doses
https://nucleus.iaea.org/sites/orpnet/worldwide/umex/SitePages/Home.aspx
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• For nuclear industry workers there are anumber of databases of occupational doses atboth international and national level(Information System on Occupational Exposure,ISOE)
• Similar systems have been developed formedical exposures and industrial workers(ISEMIR)
• The Information System for Uranium MiningExposures (UMEX) was designed to examineglobal occupational exposures in uraniummining and processing
UMEX – The Idea
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UMEX – The Design Requirements
• Important requirements and information to collect:– Capture as many of the uranium workers as possible across a wide number ofjurisdictions
– Need to know the type of operation and nature of the work being performed
– Need to understand the key assumptions used to monitor and calculateexposure and dose
– Collect dose information based on individual pathways
– Ideally wish to know the underlying dose distribution
– Record primary control mechanisms to optimise dose
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UMEX – The Design, Limitations & Solutions
• PRIVACY – A critical limitation so only amalgamated information receivedto prevent with no personal identifiers
• EASE of USE – To enable the widest possible response needed to make thedata entry easy and quick (otherwise it would not happen)
• Multiple Dose Databases – Used national regulator to determinewhich is and use the official dose register
• Variability – Combination of drop down menus, information tabs andfree form fields to structure data entry
• Different Dose Methodologies – Capture as much information aboutmonitoring and dose calculation methodologies
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UMEX – The Response
• The survey provided a snapshot of the doses in the 2012 calendaryear
• Occupational data from 36 operating facilities were received
• This covered production of 58,344t of uranium or approximately85% of global uranium production
• Amalgamated dose data was received from in excess of 30,000workers
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Number of Employees per Operation
0
2000
4000
6000
8000
10000
12000
Number of Employees
No. Emp
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UMEX – The Results
• They characterise a industry where occupational exposures arewell controlled and doses remain within applicable limits
• Average doses were typically less 5mSv/y and the maximumindividual dose was 16.5mSv/y
• Majority of doses to personnel were below 2mSv/y
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Average & Maximum Doses by Operation
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Breakdown of Average Doses by Pathway & Operation
0,00
0,50
1,00
1,50
2,00
2,50
3,00
3,50
4,00
4,50
5,00
RDP
LLAA
Gamma
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Example of UMEX Use: High Dose & Corrective Actions
• In the initial survey results one operation recorded a maximumdose of 31mSv/y
– Examination of the data showed 30 mSv was from gamma exposure
• The UMEX team believed the dose was incorrect and subsequentinvestigation by the regulator and operator confirmed that thedata was both suspect and impossible for the individual to havereceived
– The individuals doses was corrected to reflect the workgroup average forgamma by the regulator
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Example of UMEX USE: Different Dose Distributions
• Distributions of doses heavily influenced by the choice ofworkgroup and who is included
• This distribution variability raises questions about the use ofnormal statistical methods for interpreting doses
• Also may call into question the use of average dose and howworkgroups are defined
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Lots of (non) Radiation Workers
• Some operations have a highmajority of workers in the 0-0.5mSv/y range
• Are these true radiation workers orare they made up of people notexposed to uranium or short termworkers?
• In one operation this was veryapparent
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Multiple Distributions in a Workgroup
• A workgroup or similar exposure group (SEG) is expected to behomogeneous with similar exposures
• Often see multiple clumps of doses• Likely to be people with different work practices (supervisor vs faceworker)
0
0,1
0,2
0,3
0,4
0,5
0,6
0-0.5 0.5-1 1-1.5 1.5-2 2-2.5 2.5-3 3-3.5 3.5-4 4-4.5 4.5-5 5-5.5 5.5-6 6-6.5
Normalised Dose Histogram for Selected Workgroups (mSv/y)
Electricians Ore Hand Prod Drill Raise Drill
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UMEX – Next Stages
• The report on UMEX is incorporated in a Safety Report onOccupational Radiation Protection in the Uranium Mining andProcessing Industry (SR-100)
• IAEA is seeking to renew the data into the future to look at timetrends in doses within the uranium industry
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UMEX 2.0?
• It is envisaged that uranium miner occupational dose from 2019will be collected by the IAEA
• This will become an annual process and it is hoped to be via aelectronic submission similar to ISOE
• The following is the information which would be collected
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UMEX – Background & Operational Information
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UMEX – Monitoring Approach
• Details about the monitoring by exposure pathway and whetherbackground is subtracted
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UMEX – Dose Calculation
• Details about the key aspects of dose calculation including
conversion factors and use of key assumptions such as particle
sizing and use of respiratory protection factors
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Radiation Controls
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UMEX – Auxiliary Controls
• General administrative controls for radiation safety
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UMEX – The Questionnaire – Workgroup Dose Data
• Workers divided into workgroups (freeform) under defined
work categories and the number of personnel recorded
• For each workgroup average, maximum and conversion
factor is given for each pathway and total
• Where possible the standard deviation, assumed distribution
and basis for the conversion factor is requested
• The number of personnel in each 0.5mSv/y bracket for total
dose and each pathway is also requested to enable a dose
histogram to be developed
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Conclusions
• The original UMEX provided a 2012 snapshot of occupational
doses in the uranium industry
• The response covered approximately 85% of global uranium
production
• The doses show compliance with international
recommendations and represent good practice globally
• The findings of the project are incorporated in the IAEA
Safety Report (SR-100)
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Thank you!