A model to establish the monetary value of the man-sievert for public exposure

In order to select, among the range of possible protective actions, those which are consistent with the available resources and which ensure that the risks are distributed satisfactorily between individuals, the use of economic analysis (through cost-benefit analysis) was introduced in the early 1970s by the ICRP (1, 2, 3). In this perspective, the monetary value of the man-sievert appears to be a central element for the implementation of the optimisation of the radiation protection. For occupational exposures, a model to determine the monetary value of the man-sievert has been developed (4) and some operators of nuclear installations and authorities have gradually adopted monetary values as a decision-aiding tool for the evaluation of major protective actions. Recent reflections have pointed out the needs for differentiating the monetary values of the man-sievert according to the exposure situations under consideration (5). The aim of this paper is to propose a model for the determination of the monetary values to be applied for the evaluation of protective actions related to public exposures.