Statistical evaluations from the National Dose Register

Occupationally exposed persons monitored in Germany in the year 2023. The percentage shares relate to the total number of approx. 422,000 people monitored for radiation protection.

Since the start of centralized data collection on occupational doses in Germany in 1997, the number of monitored employees has grown by about 28% through 2022. In 2023, approximately 422,000 people were occupationally monitored for radiation protection. Compared to the year 2022, the number of monitored persons remained at a comparable level.

The SSR (Strahlenschutzregister/National Dose Register) is the largest national dose register in Europe in terms of annually registered employees (for more details and international comparison visit ESOREX). For approximately three quarters of the monitored individuals, the dose values were below the detection limit. Only about 95,000 employees received a measurable dose value and are therefore counted as measurably exposed persons.

Evaluations of occupational exposure by occupational sector

Percentage of persons, monitored for occupational radiation protection in Germany in 2023, by occupational sector.

In 2023, the German National Dose Register (SSR) monitored about 422,000 occupationally exposed persons in the following occupational sectors (adjoining figure): medical sector, nuclear sector, general industry, research and education, aviation, NORM, workplaces with high exposure to radon, legacies workplaces and other.

The medical sector, comprising about 77 % of monitored individuals, represents the largest group of people monitored for radiation protection. The sectors aviation (9 %) and general industry (6 %) were the second and third largest occupational sectors, followed by research and education (4 %) and the nuclear sector (3 %). With approximately 1300 individuals, the smallest groups of monitored persons comprised employees working in Radon and legacies workplaces (0.1 % each), employees working in NORM workplaces (approximately 0.04 %) and other (0.1 %).

Percentage of measurably exposed persons, monitored for occupational radiation protection in Germany in 2023, by occupational sector.

Not all people monitored for radiation protection are actually exposed. Roughly one quarter of occupationally exposed persons were measurably exposed, meaning that at least one of the monthly dose records exceeded the detection limit.

The adjoining figure shows the proportion of people who were measurably exposed in 2023 in each occupational sector. Of all 422,000 people monitored in 2023, around 95,000 people were measurably exposed in the course of their professional activities. Of the approximately 327,000 people monitored in the medical sector, only around 43,000 were measurably exposed. Together with aviation (39 %), the medical sector (46 %) thus represented the largest occupational sector, if only the measurable exposure values are considered.

Collective dose

Collective dose and number of measurably exposed persons in 2023, by occupational sector. N depicts the number of persons working in the corresponding occupational sector.

An important parameter for radiation protection is the so-called annual collective dose. The collective dose is defined as the sum of the individual effective dose values of all people in the respective occupational sector within a calendar year. The adjoining bar chart shows the collective dose for various occupational sectors in person-Sievert (person-Sv) in 2021.

Development of the annual collective dose of flight personnel after the COVID-19 pandemic

With 44.0 persons-Sv (for approx. 37,000 persons), the sector aviation contributes about two third of the total annual collective dose of 67.7 person-Sv recorded in 2023. The value of the collective dose of aviation personnel for 2023 is therefore only slightly above the previous year's annual collective dose of 42.1 person-Sv/a. The significant increase in the annual collective dose of aviation personnel in 2022, which was observed compared to the previous years 2020 and 2021 as a result of the increase in air traffic following the COVID-19 pandemic, does not continue in 2023.

Effective dose

Average effective dose and number of measurably exposed persons in 2023, by occupational sector. N depicts the number of persons working in the corresponding occupational sector. The crossbar within the column corresponds to the median.

The adjoining figure shows the average effective annual dose per occupational sector for 2023. It is calculated by taking the quotient of the annual collective dose and the number of measurably exposed persons in the respective occupational sector.

The average annual effective dose of the medical sector, approximated to 0.3 mSv. The average effective dose of measurably exposed employees within the nuclear sector amounted to 0.6 mSv, for those working in the industrial sector to 0.9 mSv. Measurably exposed persons employed in the field of research and education, received an average effective dose of 0.4 mSv.

Compared to the average natural radiation exposure of the German population (2.1 mSv per person and year), the average effective dose received at workplaces with exposure to artificial sources of radiation, is relatively small. Measurably exposed persons employed in the field of aviation, received an average effective dose of 1.2 mSv.

Measurably exposed employees at workplaces with high exposure to Radon received an average effective dose of 2.5 mSv. This is notably higher than the average effective doses received at workplaces with exposure to artificial radiation sources. The average effective dose of measurably exposed employees at legacies workplaces amounted to 1.0 mSv.

More details on the figures and further evaluations can be found in the annual report of the National Dose Register 2023 (in German).