What are typical occupational dose limits for whole-body exposure?

• A. 100 mSv per year
• B. 50 mSv per year
• C. 5 mSv per year
• D. 200 mSv per year

Answer: (B)

Protecting workers from cumulative radiation harm requires clear dose limits for whole-body exposure. The standard annual limit for occupational exposure is fifty millisieverts. This level strikes a balance: it allows workers to perform necessary tasks in radiation environments while keeping the risk of cancer and other stochastic effects at a low, acceptable level over a lifetime. In many safety frameworks there’s also a constraint that no single year should exceed this limit, and a recommended five-year average of about twenty millisieverts per year (roughly one hundred millisieverts over five years).

The other numbers don’t align with common occupational standards: a figure like two hundred millisieverts per year is higher than the typical cap, and five millisieverts per year is far below what most workers are allowed.