What is the occupational dose limit during the entire pregnancy?

• A. 0.5 rem
• B. 5 rem
• C. 0.1 rem
• D. 1 rem

Answer: (A)

The limit to protect a developing fetus from occupational radiation is a cumulative 0.5 rem for the entire pregnancy. This means that once a pregnancy is declared, the fetus should not accumulate more than 0.5 rem from occupational exposures over the full gestation period (about 9 months), even though the worker’s annual whole-body limit remains higher (usually 5 rem). In practice, this leads to additional controls—reassigning tasks, increasing distance, reducing time near sources, and using shielding—to keep fetal dose under 0.5 rem. The other numbers correspond to either annual whole-body limits or smaller/freer limits not specific to the pregnancy period, so they don’t represent the fetal dose limit for the entire pregnancy.