Press Release

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements

Main findings

Recommendations

I. Introduction

II. National Primary Drinking Water Regulations – Radionuclides
A. Bone dose estimation in ICRP 2
B. Bone dose estimation, present-day dose conversion factors
1. Bone doses according to FGR 11
2. Bone doses according to FGR 13

III. Conclusions

IV. Costs

V. Estimating the impact of residual radioactivity

VI. Other risks and radionuclides

References

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank the reviewers, Mike Thorne, Geoff Fettus, and Beatrice Brailsford, for their help in commenting on various stages of this report. Mike Thorne commented on every draft and reviewed all the calculations. His extensive knowledge of the history of how radiation protection science has evolved since the issuance of the International Commission on Radiological Protection's Publication Number 2 was indispensable to ensuring that the complexity of the issues involved are fully reflected in the analysis. I am grateful to my colleague, Annie Makhijani, who did some of the preliminary research and calculations. Sriram Gopal did some early calculations as well, when he was a staff scientist at IEER. He is now a law student. Brice Smith and Lisa Ledwidge served as internal reviewers and Lois Chalmers helped with the bibliographic research and the references, including getting the various editions of the safe drinking water regulations that were essential for doing the research.

This study is part of IEER's technical support project for grassroots groups on nuclear weapons related issues in the United States. We gratefully acknowledge the generous support of John Merck Fund, Ploughshares Fund, Public Welfare Foundation, Stewart R. Mott Charitable Trust, Town Creek Foundation, Colombe Foundation, Education Foundation of America, Ford Foundation, New Cycle Foundation, and the New-Land Foundation, as well as the individual donors who give generous support to our work.

Arjun Makhijani
Takoma Park, Maryland
June 2005