Is any amount of radiation safe? Trump nuclear regulators weigh the cost of rules

The Trump administration is reportedly reconsidering a decades-old nuclear radiation standard in a bid to accelerate the construction of power plants.

Proponents of the overhaul argue that the radiation guardrails have become overly stringent and are making it too costly to build new reactors. But the idea of allowing greater radiation exposure could spook some members of the public.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is reconsidering its reliance on a guiding principle known as ALARA, meaning “as low as reasonably achievable,” which requires nuclear reactors to take steps to reduce radiation exposure even below the limits established for worker safety. 

Those legal limits, which are separate from ALARA, are set and enforced by the NRC. Radiation exposure for workers is capped at 5 rem per year, and for the general public at 100 millirem, a thousandth of a rem. Rem — a roentgen equivalent man — is the unit used to measure