A report on progress towards new recommendations: A communication from the International Commission on Radiological Protection

Throughout the hundred-year history of the uses of ionising radiation in medicine and industry there has been advice on the need to protect people from the hazards associated with exposure. Protection standards have evolved throughout this period to reflect both the scientific understanding of the biological effects of exposure and the social and ethical standards to be applied. The Main Commission of ICRP is now considering a revised, simpler approach that is based on an individual-oriented philosophy and represents a potential shift by the Commission from the past emphasis on societal-oriented criteria. The initial proposals were promulgated through 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 Congress in May 2000, the Commission is beginning to develop the next recommendations. This article describes the issues involved in the preparation of the next recommendations and indicates the process that the Commission proposes to follow. The Commission wishes there to be an ongoing debate with an iteration of ideas over the next few years.