At its meeting in Porto in November 2009, ICRP approved a Statement on Radon. The intention is to publish this Statement in the Annals of the ICRP with an accompanying report on lung cancer risk from radon and progeny. A draft of this report is now available (the draft abstract is below), and ICRP is seeking feedback on both the Statement and the report.

ICRP welcomes comments from individuals or groups. The Statement and draft report can be downloaded, and comments submitted, through the ICRP consultation page.

Comments must be submitted no later than September 30, 2010.

IRPA members and Associate Societies are encouraged to submit comments

Draft Abstract

This report reviews recent epidemiological studies of lung cancer risk linked to exposure to radon and its progeny. It concentrates on the results from pooled case-control studies of residential exposures and cohorts of underground miners exposed to low levels of radon and radon progeny. Consistent with the approach used in ICRP Publication 65 (1993), recent miner data are used to recommend a revised detriment-adjusted nominal risk coefficient of 5x10^-4 per WLM (14x10^-5 per mJ h m^-3), replacing the ICRP Publication 65 value of 2.8 10^-4 per WLM (8 x10^-5 per mJ h m^-3). Furthermore, pooled analyses of epidemiological studies of lung cancer risk from residential exposures demonstrate a statistically significant increase per unit of exposure below average annual concentrations of about 200 Bq m^-3. The risk estimates derived from these pooled analysis are consistent with those from underground miners and are sufficiently robust to enable protection of the public to be now based on residential concentration levels. However, for occupational protection purposes, dose estimates are required to demonstrate compliance with limits and constraints. Dose estimates also allow comparisons between various sources of public exposure. ICRP Publication 65 recommended that doses from radon and its progeny should be calculated using a dose conversion convention based on miner epidemiological studies. ICRP now proposes to treat radon and radon progeny in the same way as other radionuclides and will publish dose coefficients calculated using dosimetric models for use within the ICRP system of protection.

July 7, 2010

The first half of 2010 has passed quickly. Two IRPA Regional Congresses have been completed and they were both great successes. The Asia-Oceanic Congress sponsored by the Japanese Health Physics Society in Tokyo had about 500 participants from 31 countries. Many of those countries do not have IRPA Associated Societies and so there was a great opportunity to discuss IRPA association and further expansion in Asia with their representatives. The European Congress sponsored by the Nordic Society for Radiation Protection in Helsinki had over 800 participants from 44 countries. Again, there were participants from several countries that do not have IRPA Associated Societies. I believe that here is a great opportunity for IRPA to gain several new Associate Societies in the next 2 years. There was active participation and discussion at the Associate Society Forums at both Congresses. Reports of these two Regional Congresses are on the IRPA website.

Now we look forward to the remaining two Regional Congresses this year in Nairobi, Kenya (13-17 September) and Medellin, Colombia (11-15 October). The IRPA Executive Committee will hold its 2010 meeting at the Congress in Nairobi on 11-12 September. The EC meeting in Nairobi is open to all IRPA Associate Societies and I encourage those present to take advantage of this opportunity to interact with your EC. There will also be Associate Society Forums at both Congresses, which provide the opportunity to have more extensive discussions with EC members. If you have the opportunity, I urge you to participate in one of these Congresses. You will benefit from interactions with radiation protection specialists within IRPA as well as those from countries that do not have IRPA Associated Societies.

Radiation protection continues to be challenging and exciting as I represent IRPA at many places and interact with radiation protection professionals worldwide. I have attended both Regional Congresses and I will be participating in the two remaining Congresses this year. I will not detail all the other things I have been doing, but I will highlight some of the activities that I think are particularly important for the future of IRPA.

In January I attended a meeting of the Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Protection. The Agencies are primarily the UN agencies that have some interest and activities in radiation protection. Its purpose is to facilitate cooperation and coordination on radiation protection issues among these agencies and various international organizations, such as IRPA. I also participated in meetings of the IAEA Steering Committee for the International Action Plan on Occupational Radiation Protection, Committee on Radiation Protection and Public Health of the Nuclear Energy Agency and the European Commission Article 31 Group of Experts. Several important items related to IRPA activities emerged from these meetings and will be on the agenda for discussion at the EC meeting in September.

We have had good discussions about Radiation Protection Culture at the Associate Societies Forums at the two Congresses and hope to receive additional reactions and suggestions at the remaining two Congresses. At the Tokyo Congress plans were announced for a workshop on RP Culture in Korea this coming November, and the next International Workshop on RP Culture will occur on 10-11 February 2011 in Charleston South Carolina, USA, immediately following the Health Physics Society Mid-year symposium on the topic of Radiation Measurements.

Finally, thank you to the Associate Societies that provided comments through IRPA to the Draft International BSS. These comments were consolidated and submitted to IAEA for consideration. The IRPA comments are posted on the website for your information.

The International Congress Organizing Committee for IRPA13 in Glasgow is proceeding actively and because of my active participation, the IRPA EC is completely engaged. My calendar for the rest of this year is quite full and I look forward to representing IRPA at several important meetings and conferences in addition to the Two IRPA Regional Congresses. Again I encourage all Associate Societies to share information about their activities. Send your news to Publications Director Dick Griffith for posting at the Associate Society news section of the IRPA website.

The draft ICRP report "Environmental Protection: Transfer Parameters for Reference Animals and Plants" is now available for public consultation. The ICRP welcomes comments from individuals or groups. The draft document can be downloaded, and comments submitted, through the ICRP consultation page: http://www.icrp.org/draft_environ.asp.

Comments must be submitted no later than October 1, 2010.

Helsinki hosted the Third European IRPA Regional Congress during the week of 14 June.  The Congress attracted 850 participants from 44 countries.  There were 157 oral presentations and 351 posters.  The program featured a wide range of topics and refresher courses.  A summary of the Congress sessions can be viewed and downloaded from the IRPA Reports and Documents page.

The Congress program included the International Organizations Forum conducted to review the activities of the International Organizations (EC, IAEA, ICRP, ICRU, ILO, NEA/CRPPH, UNSCEAR, WHO) in radiation protection. The Forum concluded with a round table discussion on future needs and challenges in Radiation Protection. A summary of the Forum highlights is also available on the IRPA Reports and Documents page.