The Nuclear Regulatory Commission proposed eliminating ALARA, a safety principle that has guided radiation protection for decades in settings that handle radioactive materials—including nuclear plants, hospitals, and academic facilities. The NRC said dose limits remain unchanged, but it would replace ALARA’s framework with a “graded approach” tied to potential worker doses. NRC Chairman Ho Nieh said the change is designed to “remove ambiguity” and that safety baselines for public and worker exposure are not being lowered. The NRC expects to finalize the updated radiation protection regulations in coming months. For universities and medical research centers, the shift affects compliance documentation and internal radiation safety planning, particularly for laboratories working near dose thresholds or managing emerging facilities such as small modular reactor supply chains.