Characteristics of the human body relevant to dose assessment

With a new limit for committed effective dose equivalent for members of the public, 1 mSv per any year for prolonged exposures to radionuclides in the environment, an emphasis has been even more put on dose assessment for the general public to obtain more realistic estimates of doses, particularly after the Chernobyl accident. Reference Man defined by ICRP in 1975 which replaced Standard Man of 1959, is the basis for assessing doses and calculating ALI and other secondary limits. ICRP Reference Man is currently being revised as other ICRP models and parameters are. Significance of data on characteristics of the human body, i.e. anatomical, physiological and some metabolic data in dose assessment in relation to intakes of radionuclides is confirmed. Some results of 'Reference Japanese Man' studies are summarized. For the present purpose, data may also be provided by such subject fields, i.e. health physics, environmental sciences, public health, nutrition, physiology, etc. The data on characteristics of the human body and related models for dose assessment are urgently to be established for Japanese. These will also provide key information for 'Asian Reference Man'. (author)