Occupational radiation protection. IAEA functions and policies

The paper describes the functions and polices of the IAEA with regard to occupational radiation protection, which in fact reflect the international approach of the United Nations family to this problem. An international regime on occupational radiation protection has been growing on the bases of international legally binding conventions, international standards and international provisions for the application of these standards. The IAEA has been instrumental in establishing a corpus of occupational radiation protection standards that has a long and fructiferous history. The corpus now comprises one set of basic policy fundamentals on radiation protection, one basic international requirement, the International Basic Safety Standards for Protection against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources, one basic guide on general occupational radiation protection, and several supporting guides establishing procedures, inter alia, for monitoring for external radiation and for internal contamination. The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation provides the global scientific estimates of the biological effects attributable to radiation exposure and the International Commission on Radiological Protection the basic recommendations on radiation protection that are taken into account in the formulation of the international standards. The International Labour Organization (ILO) harmonizes the interests of governments, workers and employers and provides this essential input into the standards. The IAEA establishes the international standards in co-operation with the ILO and other specialized United Nations organizations. The paper finally describes a number of controversial occupational protection issues which are still being discussed internationally and the author considers that the Conference presents an ideal forum in which to tackle these issues and search for a consensual approach to their solution. (author)