Evolution of the system of radiological protection

The development of new radiological protection recommendations by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) continues to be a strategically important undertaking, both nationally and internationally. With the growing recognition of the importance of stakeholder aspects in radiological protection decision making, regional and cultural aspects have also emerged as having potentially significant influence on how protection of the public, workers and the environment are viewed. Differing cultural aspects should therefore be considered by the ICRP in its development of new recommendations. Based on this assumption, the NEA organised the Asian Regional Conference on the Evolution of the System of Radiological Protection to express and explore views from the Far East. Held in Tokyo on 24-25 October 2002, the conference included presentations by the ICRP Chair as well as by radiological protection experts from Japan, the Republic of Korea, China and Australia. The distinct views and needs of these countries were discussed in the context of their regional and cultural heritages. These views, along with a summary of the conference results, are presented in these proceedings. (author)