# Working level

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Unit of concentration of radioactive decay products

**Working level** (WL) is a historical unit of concentration of [radioactive](/source/Radioactive) [decay products](/source/Decay_product) of [radon](/source/Radon), applied to [uranium mining](/source/Uranium_mining) environment.[1] One working level refers to the concentration of short-lived decay products of radon in [equilibrium](/source/Secular_equilibrium) with 3,700 [Bq](/source/Bq)/m3 (100 [pCi](/source/Curie_(unit))/L) in air. These decay products would emit 1.3 × 105 [MeV](/source/MeV) in complete decay.[2] The [Nuclear Regulatory Commission](/source/Nuclear_Regulatory_Commission) uses this definition.[3]

Working level month (WLM) is a closely related quantity, referring to exposure to one working level for 170 hours per month. This comes from assuming a 40-hour [work week](/source/Work_week).

In 2002, the NRC regulations limited exposure in mines to 0.3 WL, which was comparable with the standards of [International Commission on Radiological Protection](/source/International_Commission_on_Radiological_Protection) at the time.[2]

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Vaillant, Ludovic; Bataille, Céline (September 2012). "Management of radon: a review of ICRP recommendations". *Journal of Radiological Protection*. **32** (3): R3. [Bibcode](/source/Bibcode_(identifier)):[2012JRP....32R...1V](https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2012JRP....32R...1V). [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1088/0952-4746/32/3/R1](https://doi.org/10.1088%2F0952-4746%2F32%2F3%2FR1). [PMID](/source/PMID_(identifier)) [22809956](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22809956). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [2423305](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:2423305).

1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Shapiro2012_2-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Shapiro2012_2-1) Shapiro, Jacob (June 2002). [*Radiation Protection: A Guide for Scientists, Regulators, and Physicians*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Ber3ENERfGwC&pg=444) (4th ed.). Harvard University Press. p. 444. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [9780674007406](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/9780674007406). Retrieved September 16, 2016.

1. **[^](#cite_ref-NRC_3-0)** ["NRC Regulations Title 10, Code of Federal Regulations Part 20.1003"](https://www.nrc.gov/reading-rm/doc-collections/cfr/part020/part020-1003.html). *United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission*. Retrieved 16 September 2016.

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