Critical Group 1
Critical Group 1 : A group of members of the public which is reasonably homogeneous with respect to its exposure for a given radiation source and is typical of individuals receiving the highest effective dose or equivalent dose (as applicable) from the given source. The deletion of the former reference to a given exposure pathway implies that there will not be a number of critical groups for a given source. Some non-Agency documents, notably those of ICRP, use a definition of critical group that makes no such reference to a given exposure pathway, implying that there is only one critical group for a given source, namely the one with the highest total exposure from all exposure pathways. Application of the term to potential exposures, such as those that may occur in the future as a result of radioactive waste disposal, is complicated by the facts that both the dose (if it occurs) and the probability of receiving the dose are relevant, and that these two parameters are essentially independent of one another. Hence, a group can be homogeneous with respect to dose but not risk, and, more importantly, vice versa. A commonly adopted solution is to define a critical group - often a hypothetical critical group - that is reasonably homogeneous with respect to risk, and is typical of those people who might be subject to the highest risk. Hypothetical Critical Group: A group of hypothetical individuals which is reasonably homogeneous with respect to the risk to which its members are subject from a given radiation source and is representative of individuals likely to be most at risk from the given source
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