Study of dose limits for crews on nuclear-powered submarine from risk comparison between radiation and carcinogens

Abstract

Nuclear power has enriched our lives, and especially when applied to submarine propulsion systems, it brings about revolutionary changes in speed and diving ability. However, when radiation is exposed to our body, it causes harmful effects. Therefore, radiation protection are required to protect crew members, and shielding are generally used. However, unlike land power plants, unlimited shielding materials cannot be installed on submarines, which have limited space and loading capacity. Therefore, installation of an efficient shielding structure considering volume and weight is required. For an effective shielding design, many design factors must be considered, but above all, determining the allowable radiation dose level must be first determined. This is the most important factor for determining the shielding design. However, there is no publicly available research works. Furthermore, the current regulations on the radiation dose limit are based on the averaging of male and female, Asian and Western subjects, and all ages. However, the nuclear-powered submarine crew will consist of Korean men in their 20s to 50s, so it is not appropriate to apply the current radiation dose regulations without review. Therefore, this study aims to investigate dose limits applicable to submarine crews in order to suggest a guideline for effective radiation shielding design for nuclear-powered submarines. To this end, the authors will review the level of risk that nuclear-powered submarine crews can accept and calculate the radiation dose appropriate for the risk level. Due to the following results, it became possible to protect general crew members from excessive exposure by establishing separate dose limits. For engine crew members, it was possible to reduce the risk by more than 1% compared to the risk applied by the existing dose limit. In addition, since the total dose is presented instead of the annual dose, flexible use of submarine crews, which require considerable effort to train, is possible.