Basic Radiation Protection Criteria

NCRP Report No. 116 is the latest in the long series of reports on basic radiation protection criteria that began in 1934. It supersedes the predecessor in the series, NCRP Report No. 91, which was published in 1987. The current Report takes advantage of new information, evaluations and thinking that have developed since 1987, particularly the risk estimate formulations set out in NCRP Report No. 115. While the recommendations set out in this Report do not constitute a radical revision of the basic criteria, they do represent a refinement of the system enunciated in Report No. 91. Important changes include the utilization of revised tissue/organ weighting factors and the introduction of radiation weighting factors. Also noteworthy is the introduction of an allowable reference level of intake. Noteworthy too is the recommendation of an age-based lifetime limit for control of occupational exposures and a major simplification of limits aimed at controlling the exposure of the embryo and fetus. This Report, after outlining the goals and philosophy of radiation protection and the basis for exposure limits, goes on to review, in some detail, absorbed dose, equivalent dose, radiation weighting factors, and effective dose. Committed equivalent dose and committed effective dose are also introduced. Risk estimates for radiation exposure are presented and then the dose limits are enunciated. The Report also covers exposure in excess of the limits, limits for unusual occupational situations, guidance for emergency occupational exposure, and remedial action levels for naturally occurring radiation.

This publication is the new edition of the International Basic Safety Standards. The edition is co-sponsored by seven other international organizations European Commission (EC/Euratom), FAO, ILO, OECD/NEA, PAHO, UNEP and WHO. It replaces the interim edition that was published in November 2011 and the previous edition of the International Basic Safety Standards which was published in 1996. It has been extensively revised and updated to take account of the latest finding of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, and the latest recommendations of the International Commission on Radiological Protection. The publication details the requirements for the protection of people and the environment from harmful effects of ionizing radiation and for the safety of radiation sources. All circumstances of radiation exposure are considered.