Evolution of the system of radiological protection: a new development model

About ten years ago the Chairman of ICRP, Prof. Roger Clarke, began to openly explore the possibilities for the evolution of the ICRP's recommendations. The wide international interest that this initiative engendered, together with the willingness of Prof. Clarke and his successor Dr. Lars-Erik Holm to open a dialogue, led many agencies and individuals to engage with the ICRP as it developed its new recommendations. The Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) of the OECD took an active part in this interaction, providing feedback on national experience in implementing Publication 60, and facilitating input from stakeholders on their concerns about successive draft ICRP recommendations. From 1999 to 2007, this engagement took the form of eight international conferences, detailed assessment of four draft ICRP recommendations, and seven expert group reports. A stakeholder involvement workshop organised by the NEA in 2003 pointed to five objectives for stakeholder involvement: incorporating stakeholder values in decisions; increasing the substantive quality of decisions; resolving conflict among competing interests; building trust in institutions; and educating and informing the stakeholders. To assess how successful the NEA interaction with the ICRP has been, the NEA commissioned a study of the impact NEA activities have had on the evolution of the ICRP recommendations. Nine topics were followed in the study. Although the NEA related inputs have been only part of the overall stakeholder involvement, it is clear from the results of the study that the process achieved considerable success in meeting the objectives for such involvement, and has had a significant effect on the final ICRP recommendations. From this experience, we suggest that the development of other international radiological protection documents, such as the International Basic Safety Standards and the European Basic Safety Standards Directive could also benefit from such an open process. (author)