Safety_Series_041_1975 - gnssn - International Atomic Energy ...

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SECTION VI 25
SAMPLE PRESERVATION
609. In som e cases it m ay be n ecessa ry to check analytical resu lts
o f environm ental sam ples o r to ca rry out further scien tific
studies. T h erefore lon g -term storage of p rop erly identified
sam ples may be useful.
ASSESSMENT OF THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MONITORING RESULTS
610. When the d oses to the individual m em bers of the c r itica l
group of the population do not exceed the regu latory o r
internationally recog n ized lim its fo r individual m em bers
o f the public, it can be assum ed that the environm ental
contam ination w ill not be lik ely to produce any exposure that
entails an unacceptable risk .
611. H ow ever, it is im portant to recogn ize that the m ere keeping
of the contam ination levels below values correspon din g to
these regu latory lim its is not in itse lf a su fficien t a ch iev e­
m ent. The contam ination lev els should be kept to the m in i­
mum values that are readily achievable. Any exposure m ay
involve som e d egree of risk and this im portant con sideration
should not be overlook ed . Even if the degree of risk to man
is con sid ered to be acceptable, the corresp on d in g level of
en vironm en tal contam ination m ay be u n d esirable fro m other
points of view . It m ay fo r instance re strict m a n 's use and
enjoym ent of environm ental r e s o u r ces.
612. In addition to checking the o p era tors' program m es and
assessm en ts, the com petent authorities must con sid er the
dose to the whole com m unity in term s of the num ber of
person s exposed as a resu lt of the re leases from a single
installation and as a resu lt of the com bined effects o f different
in stallation s.