Radiation exposure to the lens of the eye for Japanese nuclear power plant workers

In Japan, the radiation dose limit for the lens of the eye was revised in April 2021. Consequently, for workers the numerical values of equivalent dose to the lens of the eye are equal to those of the effective dose. Radiation workers, radiation safety officers, and licensees must comply with the regulations related to radiation protection and optimise protection. The new dose monitoring of the lens of the eye developed by the Japan Health Physics Society recommends for the dose to be estimated near the eye for accurate estimation, when the dose to the lens approaches or exceeds the management criteria. However, there is limited information regarding the non-uniform exposure of nuclear power plant workers. In this study, the dose equivalent of high-dose-rate workplaces and the personal doses of 88 workers were estimated at four Japanese commercial nuclear power plant sites (RWR:3units and BWR: 3 units), and the non-uniform exposure of the workers was analysed.