Annual Limit on Intake (ALI) is the limit of radioactive material taken into the body that would result in the smaller of two dose measures: ?

• A. the smaller of a committed effective dose equivalent of 5 rems or a committed dose equivalent of 50 rems to any individual organ
• B. the larger of a committed effective dose equivalent of 5 rems or a committed dose equivalent of 50 rems to any organ
• C. the sum of dose equivalents for all organs
• D. the average dose across the body

Answer: (A)

ALI is defined by considering two internal dose measures and taking whichever would be reached with the smaller intake. Those two measures are the committed effective dose equivalent (CEDE), which reflects whole-body risk, and the committed dose equivalent to any single organ (CDE), which reflects organ-specific risk. The regulatory limits use 5 rem for CEDE and 50 rem for CDE. So the intake that would bring the CEDE to 5 rem or the CDE to 50 rem—whichever result comes first—defines the ALI. In other words, the ALI is based on the smaller of those two dose outcomes, ensuring protection for both overall body risk and organ-specific risk. The other options miss this dual-measure protection or rely on summing or averaging doses, which isn’t how ALI is determined.