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DOE Review Release 10/24/2023

Conversion of Committed Effective Dose to 

Annual Organ Dose

ORAUT-OTIB-0093 Rev. 00

Effective Date: 10/16/2023

Supersedes: None

Subject Expert(s): Elizabeth M. Brackett

Document Owner 

Approval: Signature on File

Elizabeth M. Brackett, Document Owner

Approval Date: 10/06/2023

Concurrence: Signature on File

John M. Byrne, Objective 1 Manager

Concurrence Date: 10/09/2023

Concurrence: Signature on File

Scott R. Siebert, Objective 3 Manager

Concurrence Date: 10/06/2023

Concurrence: Vickie S. Short Signature on File for

Kate Kimpan, Project Director

Concurrence Date: 10/06/2023

Approval: Signature on File

Timothy D. Taulbee, Associate Director for Science

Approval Date: 10/16/2023

FOR DOCUMENTS MARKED AS A TOTAL REWRITE OR REVISION, 

REPLACE THE PRIOR REVISION AND DISCARD / DESTROY ALL COPIES OF THE PRIOR REVISION.

New Total Rewrite Revision
Document No. ORAUT-OTIB-0093 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 10/16/2023 Page 2 of 7

 

PUBLICATION RECORD

EFFECTIVE

DATE

REVISION

NUMBER DESCRIPTION

10/16/2023 00 New document to convert committed effective dose to annual organ 

doses. Added clarification to statements regarding bounding 

estimates, the application to unmonitored workers, and site-specific 

dose assignment. Incorporates formal internal and NIOSH review 

comments. Training is not required. Initiated by John M. Byrne and 

authored by Elizabeth M. Brackett.
Document No. ORAUT-OTIB-0093 Revision No. 00 Effective Date: 10/16/2023 Page 3 of 7

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

SECTION TITLE PAGE

Acronyms and Abbreviations ............................................................................................................... 4

1.0 Introduction .............................................................................................................................. 5

1.1 Purpose........................................................................................................................ 5

1.2 Scope........................................................................................................................... 5

2.0 Determination of Intake ............................................................................................................ 5

3.0 Application of Intake................................................................................................................. 6

References .......................................................................................................................................... 7

LIST OF TABLES

TABLE TITLE PAGE

2-1 Committed organ doses from 239Pu intakes resulting in a 100-mrem CED ............................... 6
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ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

AWE Atomic Weapons Employer

Bq becquerel

CED committed effective dose

C.F.R. Code of Federal Regulations

DCF dose conversion factor

DOE U.S. Department of Energy

ICRP International Commission on Radiological Protection

M moderate

mrem millirem

NIOSH National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

ORAU Oak Ridge Associated Universities

ORAUT ORAU Team

RBM red bone marrow

S slow

SMT stable metal tritide

SRDB Ref ID Site Research Database Reference Identification (number)

Sv sievert

TIB technical information bulletin

ULI upper large intestine

U.S.C. United States Code

μm micrometer

§ section or sections
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1.0 INTRODUCTION

Technical information bulletins (TIBs) are not official determinations made by the National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) but are rather general working documents that provide 

historical background information and guidance to assist in the preparation of dose reconstructions at 

particular sites or categories of sites. They will be revised in the event additional relevant information 

is obtained about the affected site(s), such as changing scientific understanding of operations, 

processes, or procedures involving radioactive materials. TIBs may be used to assist NIOSH staff in 

the completion of individual dose reconstructions.

In this document the word “facility” is used to refer to an area, building, or group of buildings that 

served a specific purpose at a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) or Atomic Weapons Employer 

(AWE) facility. It does not mean, nor should it be equated to, an “AWE facility” or a “DOE facility.” The 

terms AWE and DOE facility are defined in 42 United States Code (U.S.C.) § 7384l(5) and (12) of the 

Energy Employees Occupational Illness Compensation Program Act of 2000, respectively.

1.1 PURPOSE

Promulgation of 10 Code of Federal Regulations (C.F.R.) Part 835, Occupational Radiation 

Protection, in the mid-1990s resulted in the institution of increased bioassay monitoring requirements 

at DOE facilities [DOE 1993]. Beginning in 1996, internal dose evaluation programs, including routine 

bioassay programs, were required for radiological workers who, under typical conditions, were likely to 

receive 0.1 rem or more committed effective dose equivalent in a year. In 2010, this requirement 

changed to 0.1-rem committed effective dose (CED). 10 C.F.R. 835, 2010. Note that the given years 

are the latest dates required by DOE for implementation of the regulations and that some sites were in 

compliance before these dates. 

Given these requirements and how the site implemented them, the assignment of a 100-mrem CED in

each year of potential exposure provides a bounding estimate of internal dose for unmonitored 

workers as determined and explained in the site-specific documentation. This document provides 

guidance on the conversion from a CED to annual organ doses. 

1.2 SCOPE 

The DOE monitoring requirement is based on a 50-year dose to the whole body, while dose 

reconstruction requires the assessment of annual organ dose. The relationship between the 

committed effective and annual organ doses is complex and does not allow direct conversion of one 

to the other. However, an intake quantity can be determined from the CED, which can then be used to 

calculate the annual organ dose. This value can be derived on a radionuclide-specific basis using the 

appropriate International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Publication 68 dose 

coefficient (dose conversion factor [DCF]) for CED [ICRP 1995]. In most cases, a potential intake of 

multiple nuclides could contribute to the 100-mrem monitoring requirement, many with multiple 

possible material types. All possibilities must be considered in the assessment. Applicability of this 

approach, including criteria defining which unmonitored workers are assigned this dose, is determined 

on a site-specific basis and is outside the scope of this document. 

2.0 DETERMINATION OF INTAKE

Table 2-1 demonstrates the variability in the relationship between effective and organ doses. This will 

be further enhanced with the division into annual doses. The supporting data and calculations for 

Table 2-1 may be found in Oak Ridge Associated Universities (ORAU) Team (ORAUT) [2023].
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Table 2-1. Committed organ doses (mrem) from 239Pu 

intakes resulting in a 100-mrem CED.a

Organb 

Type M:

31.3 Bq

Type S:

120.5 Bq

Adrenals 5.3 1.8

Bone surface 3,100 1,100

ULI 5.6 1.9

Liver 660 230

RBM 150 54

Lungs 66 570

CED 100 100

a. Source: ORAUT [2023]. 

b. ULI = upper large intestine; RBM = red bone marrow.

For the general case, the intake activity for a given isotope of a radionuclide that results in a 

100-mrem CED is derived from the corresponding ICRP [1995] DCF. Given that 100 mrem is equal to 

0.001 Sv, an intake that would result in a CED of 100 mrem is:

Intake (Bq) = 0.001 Sv/DCF (Sv/Bq) (2-1)

For consistency in calculating values, use the DCFs from the spreadsheet [ICRP 2012a] the ICRP 

provided with Publication 119, Compendium of Dose Coefficients Based on ICRP Publication 60

[ICRP 2012b]. The spreadsheet tab labeled “Table A.1.” lists the DCFs, and column F contains the 

applicable values (i.e., worker 5-μm inhalation DCFs) in units of Sv/Bq. Note that “e” is used to denote 

the effective DCF. The tab “Table B.1.” lists DCFs for soluble gases in column C if the dose came 

from the vapor form of a material.

DCFs for special forms of several radionuclides are not included in ICRP Publication 119. The 

following Project documents are to be used in such cases:

• Stable metal tritides (SMTs): ORAUT-OTIB-0066, Calculation of Dose from Intakes of Special 

Tritium Compounds [ORAUT 2020a].

• Super S materials: ORAUT-OTIB-0049, Estimating Doses for Plutonium Strongly Retained in 

the Lung [ORAUT 2020b].

• Insoluble 238Pu: DCAS-RPT-005, Alternative Dissolution Models for Insoluble Pu-238 [NIOSH

2018].

3.0 APPLICATION OF INTAKE

Use the intake calculated in Section 2.0 to calculate the appropriate annual organ doses.

Applicability of this approach is on a site-specific basis. Refer to the site-specific documentation for 

details on timeframes, radionuclides, and dose assignment details. 
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REFERENCES

10 C.F.R. 835, [2010]. Occupational radiation protection. [SRDB Ref ID: 165861]

DOE [1993]. Federal Register Vol. 58 No. 238 December 14, 1993 Occupational radiation protection. 

Final rule. Fed Regist 58(238):65458. [SRDB Ref ID: 165855]

ICRP [1995]. ICRP 68 - Dose coefficients for intakes of radionuclides by workers. ICRP Publication 

68. Ann ICRP 24(4). [SRDB Ref ID: 22731]

ICRP [2012a]. ICRP 119 - Spreadsheet versions of Annexes A-K of ICRP Publication 119, corrected 

version. Spreadsheet. Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: International Commission on Radiological Protection. 

[SRDB Ref ID: 127250]

ICRP [2012b]. ICRP 119 - Compendium of dose coefficients based on ICRP Publication 60. ICRP 

Publication 119. Ann ICRP 41(S1). [SRDB Ref ID: 127106]

NIOSH [2018]. Alternative dissolution models for insoluble Pu-238. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. Department 

of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. DCAS-RPT-005 Rev. 01, August 17. [SRDB Ref ID: 175415] 

ORAUT [2020a]. Calculation of dose from intakes of special tritium compounds. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak 

Ridge Associated Universities Team. ORAUT-OTIB-0066 Rev. 01, October 15. [SRDB Ref ID: 

183483] 

ORAUT [2020b]. Estimating doses for plutonium strongly retained in the lung. Oak Ridge, TN: Oak 

Ridge Associated Universities Team. ORAUT-OTIB-0049 Rev. 02, September 1. [SRDB Ref ID: 

178329] 

ORAUT [2023]. ORAUT-OTIB-0093 Rev 00 supporting calculations. Spreadsheet. Oak Ridge, TN: 

Oak Ridge Associated Universities Team. June 5. [SRDB Ref ID: 197739]