Examination of the waste discharges from operating nuclear power plants results in estimates of public exposure related to the proposed numerical guides for effluents from light water cooled nuclear power plants. In-plant radiation exposures are also summarized for a number of these facilities, both on an individual and “population” basis. Under present waste management philosophies (which include augmented BWR offgas holdup), in-plant population exposures may be about 100 times those of the public and unreasonable restrictions on waste discharges could increase rather than reduce the radiation exposure of the total population.