Postgraduate Educational Course in Radiation Protection and the Safety of Radiation Sources
PGEC Part IV
The International System of Radiation Protection
and the Regulatory Framework
Module IV 1.2 . The role of International organizations
in Radiation Protection – ICRP & ICRU
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International Atomic Energy Agency
Overview
 We will discuss the mission of the International
Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)
 We will also discuss the mission of the International
Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements
(ICRU)
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ICRP Mission
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP)
is an independent Registered Charity, established to advance for
the public benefit the science of radiological protection, in
particular by providing recommendations and guidance on all
aspects of protection against ionising radiation
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ICRP
 Is an advisory body providing recommendations and guidance
on radiation protection
 Was founded in 1928 by the International Society of
Radiology (ISR, the professional society of radiologist
physicians), and was called the ‘International X-ray and
Radium Protection Committee’
 Was restructured to better take account of uses of radiation
outside the medical area, and given its present name in 1950
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ICRP
 Is an Independent Registered Charity (a ‘not-for-profit
organisation’) in the United Kingdom; and Currently has its
small Scientific Secretariat in Canada
 Works to help prevent cancer and other diseases and effects
associated with exposure to ionising radiation, and to protect
the environment.
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ICRP
In preparing recommendations, ICRP considers the fundamental
principles and quantitative bases upon which appropriate
radiation protection measures can be established, while leaving to
the various national protection bodies the responsibility of
formulating the specific advice, codes of practice, or regulations
that are best suited to the needs of their individual countries
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ICRP
 ICRP offers its recommendations to regulatory and advisory
agencies and provides advice intended to be of help to
management and professional staff with responsibilities for
radiological protection
 While ICRP has no formal power to impose its proposals on
anyone, legislation in most countries adheres closely to ICRP
recommendations.
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ICRP
 Originally, ICRP published recommendations and advice as
papers in various scientific journals in the fields of medicine
and physics
 Since 1959, ICRP has its own series of publications (since
1977 they are published as the Annals of the ICRP)
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ICRP
 ICRP is composed of a Main Commission and five standing
Committees:
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Radiation effects
Doses from radiation exposure
Protection in medicine
the Application of ICRP recommendations
Protection of the environment
 The Main Commission consists of twelve members, a
Chairman, and Scientific Secretary
 Committees typically comprise 15-20 members
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ICRP
 ICRP uses Task Groups (performing defined tasks) and
Working Parties (developing ideas) to prepare its reports
 A Task Group usually contains a majority of specialists from
outside the ICRP membership
 Thus, ICRP is an independent international network of
specialists in various fields of radiological protection
 At any one time, about one hundred eminent scientists are
actively involved in the work of ICRP
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Recent ICRP Reports
115 Lung Cancer Risk from Radon and Progeny and Statement on Radon
114 Environmental Protection: Transfer Parameters for Reference Animals and
Plants
113 Education and Training in Radiological Protection for Diagnostic and
Interventional Procedures
112 Preventing Accidental Exposures from New External Beam Radiation
Therapy Technologies
111 Application of the Commission's Recommendations to the Protection of
People Living in Long-term Contaminated Areas After a Nuclear Accident or a
Radiation Emergency
110 Adult Reference Computational Phantoms
109 Application of the Commission's Recommendations for the Protection of
People in Emergency Exposure Situations
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Recent ICRP Reports
108 Environmental Protection - the Concept and Use of Reference Animals and
Plants
107 Nuclear Decay Data for Dosimetric Calculations
106 Radiation Dose to Patients from Radiopharmaceuticals - Addendum 3 to
ICRP Publication 53
105 Radiological Protection in Medicine
104 Scope of Radiological Protection Control Measures
103 The 2007 Recommendations of the International
Commission on Radiological Protection
102 Managing Patient Dose in Multi-Detector Computed Tomography (MDCT)
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Recent ICRP Reports
101b The Optimisation of Radiological Protection - Broadening the Process
101a Assessing Dose of the Representative Person for the Purpose of the
Radiation Protection of the Public
100 Human Alimentary Tract Model for Radiological Protection
99 Low-dose Extrapolation of Radiation-related Cancer Risk
98 Radiation Safety Aspects of Brachytherapy for Prostate Cancer using
Permanently Implanted Sources
97 Prevention of High-dose-rate Brachytherapy Accidents
96 Protecting People against Radiation Exposure in the Event of a
Radiological Attack
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Older ICRP Reports
Information on ICRP reports, including those prior to
2005, is available from:
http://www.icrp.org/publications.asp
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ICRU
Originally known as the International X-Ray Unit Committee,
and later as the International Commission on Radiation Units and
Measurements, was conceived at the First International Congress
of Radiology (ICR-1) in London in 1925 and officially came into
being at ICR-2 in Stockholm in 1928
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ICRU
 Since its inception, it has had as its principal objective the
development of internationally acceptable recommendations
regarding:
 quantities and units of radiation and radioactivity
 procedures suitable for the measurement and application of
these quantities in diagnostic radiology, radiation therapy,
radiation biology, and industrial operations
 physical data needed in the application of these procedures,
the use of which tends to assure uniformity in reporting
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ICRU
The ICRU endeavors to collect and evaluate the latest data and
information pertinent to the problems of radiation measurement
and dosimetry, and to recommend in its publications the most
acceptable values and techniques for current use
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ICRU
 Measurement of radiation is a complex subject and is a science
in itself
 Users of radiation who need to make radiation measurements
cannot be expected to become experts in this particular field
 The ICRU provides authoritative guidance on how to deal
with the measurement problems connected with their
particular use of radiation
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ICRU
 Guidance on measurements as diverse as those involved in
measuring the radiations used in medical practice and the
exotic radiations found in space has been provided by the
ICRU
 The ICRU is recognized as a source of authoritative
recommendations on all types of radiation measurement
problems
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ICRU
 The Commission utilizes the freely volunteered services of
physicians, scientists and engineers who participate in its
program through service on the Commission or on working
groups engaged in the development of guidance and
recommendation
 They are drawn from the leading universities, laboratories and
agencies throughout the world
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ICRU
 These individuals, because of their training, talent and
experience in radiation matters, constitute a resource of
inestimable value
 Their abilities are brought to bear on current problems in
service of the public interest
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ICRU
 The first task of the ICRU on its founding in 1925 was to
devise a unit of radiation that would make it possible to
develop cancer treatment
 The ICRU provided a set of quantities and concepts that met
the need and facilitated development in medical applications
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ICRU
In recent times, the Commission has addressed the complex
problems of assessing radiation exposure for protection purposes
developing a set of quantities and units which facilitates
comparison of exposures with established limits
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ICRU
 The Commission consists of a maximum of 15 Members and is
assisted by several Report Committees
 These committees of four to eight members produce draft
reports on specific subjects which are then reviewed by the
Commission
 The non-profit operation of the ICRU strengthens the
Commission’s position as an independent body
 Funding from sale of ICRU Reports, and financial support by
the European Commission, the US National Cancer Institute, the
IAEA, plus smaller contributions from other sources
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Current Program
Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine:
 Radiation is essential in modern medicine for diagnosis and
clinical management of many kinds of illness
 Diagnostic imaging has become increasingly complex, and
manipulation of image information requires common concepts,
terminology, and measurement methodology essential for the
benefit of the patient to assure maximum diagnostic
information with minimum potential risk
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Current Program
Diagnostic Radiology and Nuclear Medicine:
 Currently activities involve the preparation of new reports on
image quality assessment in nuclear medicine, bone
densitometry, image quality assessment in chest radiography,
assessment of image quality in mammography, dosimetric
procedures in diagnostic radiology, and dose specification in
nuclear medicine
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Current Program
Radiation Therapy:
 The successful radiation treatment of cancer depends on
knowledge of the precise amount and location of radiation
given to a patient and the opportunity for therapists to
exchange information on the results attained
 The ability to compare clinical results achieved in different
centers using different radiation modalities and protocols
necessitates a common language for reporting fractionation
schedules, doses, and techniques
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Current Program
Radiation Protection:
 Protection of personnel working with radiation relies on careful
measurement as does the protection of the public and the
environment
 Because of diversity in exposures in both routine and accident
conditions, internationally accepted measurement conventions
are required for assessment of irradiation of individuals and for
monitoring of the environment
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Current Program
Radiation Protection:
 Specialized quantities and reference data are needed for
correlation of individual exposures and associated risk
 The ICRU developed a conceptual basis for the definition of
operational quantities for area and individual monitoring used
in the assessment of compliance with exposure limitations
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Current Program
Radiation Protection:
 Work is underway on reports for
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determination of body burdens for radionuclides
measurement of operational quantities for neutrons
requirements for radioecological sampling
retrospective assessment of exposure to ionizing radiation
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Current Program
Radiation in Science:
 Three fundamental areas for basic science:
 quantities and units of radiation and radioactivity should
be defined clearly and sensibly for effective
communication
 techniques and instruments for radiation measurements
need to be standardized for optimal performance
 basic physical data concerning interactions of radiation
with matter must be established optimally in the light of
the latest scientific results and updated continuously
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Current Program
Radiation in Science:
 These data are necessary in research on mechanisms of physical,
chemical, and biological changes induced by radiation, as well as
in application to medicine, industry, and radiation risk assessment
 Currently, work is underway on reports treating quantities, units
and terms in radioecology, absorbed dose standards for photon
irradiation, stopping powers for heavy ions, dosimetry systems for
radiation processing, elastic scattering of electrons and positrons,
and measurement quality assurance for ionizing radiation
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Recent ICRU Reports
78 Prescribing, Recording, and Reporting Proton-Beam Therapy (2007) [with
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79 Receiver Operator Characteristic (ROC) Analysis in Medical Imaging
(2008)
80 Dosimetry Systems for Use in Radiation Processing (2008)
81 Quantitative Aspects of Bone Densitometry (2009)
82 Mammography: Assessment of Image Quality (2009)
ICRP 110 Reference Phantom for Radiation Protection (2009) [with ICRP]
83 Prescribing, Recording, and Reporting Photon-Beam Intensity-Modulated
Radiation Therapy (IMRT) (2010)
84 Reference Data for the Validation of Doses from Cosmic Radiation Exposure
of Aircraft Crew (2010) [with ICRP]
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Older ICRU Reports
A list of ICRU reports and their abstracts can be found at:
http://www.icru.org/index.php?option=com_link_index&type=cat
egory&id=13&count=6&Itemid=53
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Where to Get More Information
TRAINING COURSES SERIES No. 18
Postgraduate Educational Course in Radiation Protection and
the Safety of Radiation Sources Standard Syllabus
www.icrp.org
www.icru.org
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