Progress towards new recommendations from the International Commission on Radiological Protection

There has been a hundred-year history of the uses of radiation in medicine and industry. Throughout that time there has also been advice on the need to protect people from the hazards associated with exposure. This paper traces the evolution of protection standards through the differing phases that are identified. These phases reflect changes both in scientific understanding of the biological effects of exposure and of the social and ethical standards to be applied. An analysis is then given of the reasons why the challenges to the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), especially about the linear non-threshold response model, have arisen. As a result of considering the issues, the Main Commission of ICRP is now consulting on a revised simpler approach which is based on an individual-oriented philosophy and represents a potential shift by the Commission from the past emphasis on societal-oriented criteria. These proposals have been promulgated through the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) and an open literature publication was published in the Journal of Radiological Protection in June 1999. On the basis of comments received and the observations presented at the IRPA 10 Conference, the Commission will begin to develop the outline of the next recommendations.