An approach to radiation protection designed to manage and control individual and collective radiation doses to the workforce and the general public and to ensure that exposure is kept to the lowest level reasonably achievable. The ALARA approach considers aspects of the social, technical, economic, practical, and public impacts.

refers to maintaining offsite radioactive releases and occupational radiation exposures as low as achievable in a reasonable, cost-effective manner.

This is the current philosophy in radiation protection. Key elements of the ALARA principle are: no work with radioactive materials should be adopted unless its introduction produces net positive benefits all exposures shall be kept as low as reasonably achievable, economic and social factors being taken into account according to ALARA, actual operational dose limits for any radiological activity can be more restrictive than the maximum recommended dose limits by the CNSC.