- Long-Term Environmental Stewardship & Sustainability Strategy ›
- Clean the Past ›
- Control the Present ›
- Introduction
- Something in the Air? ›
- Protections: Sediment ›
- Protections: Sediment Control = Contaminant Retention
- Tour: Sediment Retention
- Protection #2: Trap and Remove Sediment
- Stormwater Controls
- Stop Contaminant Movement & the Individual Permit
- View of Stormwater Monitoring Sites
- Stormwater Control Structures
- How are the aftereffects of wildfire managed?
- Las Conchas Wildfire
- Stormwater Controls after Wildfire
- Los Alamos Canyon Weir
- 10,000 Willows
- Pueblo Canyon Grade Control Structure
- Early Notification Gages
- Protections: Sampling ›
- Protection #3: Sample and Survey
- Tour: Environmental Monitoring
- Groundwater Monitoring
- How does LANL determine where to put a monitoring well?
- Protection of the Groundwater Resource
- The Location Investigation Process
- The Location Determination Process
- Monitoring Well Placement
- Contaminant Sources
- Groundwater Monitoring Network
- View of Groundwater Monitoring Sites
- Well Placement Decision Process
- Create a Sustainable Future ›
- Multimedia ›
How does LANL estimate the potential dose to the public?
What is the Maximally Exposed Individual?
Comparing Radiation Doses
| Source | Millirem |
|---|---|
| LANL All-pathways/year | 0.5 – 3 |
| Dental X-ray/each | 2 - 3 |
| Mammogram | 3 |
| Radon in NM/year | 300 |
| Flight/hour | 0.4 |
| Chest X-ray | 6 |
| Barium swallow | 150 |
- Calculates the dose to the maximally exposed individual (MEI)
- MEI is a hypothetical person located on the border of LANL property
- Assumes 24 hours of every day of the year constantly at the location
- Assumes the person eats food grown and drinks water found at the location
- The limit that LANL is allowed to contribute is less than 10 millirem
LANL calculates doses from two different MEIs:
- Airborne-pathway MEI
- Location is determined by using AIRNET data, stack sampling, and computer models to
calculate the greatest potential airborne dose.
- Location is determined by using AIRNET data, stack sampling, and computer models to
- All-pathway MEI
- Considers every possible way radiation from LANL might affect a human.
- To determine the dose, the potential dose to each pathway is calculated. The doses are
then added together for a total all-pathways dose.