Abstract
It is somehow fitting that this report should be published as we approach the 10th anniversary of Publication 91 (ICRP, 2003), the International Commission on Radiological Protection's (ICRP) first publication on protection of the environment. It also marks 10 years since the International Conference on the Protection of the Environment from the Effects of Ionizing Radiation, held in Stockholm in 2003. The primary objective of the Stockholm conference was to promote the development of a coherent international policy on the protection of the environment from effects attributable to ionising radiation. It is worth briefly revisiting the findings of the Stockholm conference to fully appreciate how far we have travelled over the last decade.
The main finding of the conference was that time is ripe for launching a number of
international initiatives to consolidate the present approach to controlling radioactive
discharges to the environment, taking explicit account of the protection of species
other than humans (IAEA,
2003). In specifying this, the international community gathered in Stockholm set
expectations on a number of international organisations, including ICRP, as follows:
The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
(UNSCEAR) should continue to provide findings on the sources and effects of
ionising radiation that can be used as the authoritative scientific basis
for future international efforts in environmental radiation protection. ICRP should continue to issue recommendations on radiation protection,
including specific recommendations for the protection of non-human
species. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) should establish appropriate
international undertakings, including international standards and mechanisms
for their worldwide application, to restrict releases of radioactive
materials into the environment over time, in order that not only humans but
also the non-human component of the environment is protected adequately.
IAEA should continue to foster information exchange by organising
international meetings on this subject.
In the intervening period, UNSCEAR has published an annex on the effects of ionising radiation on non-human biota (United Nations, 2008); ICRP has published a series of reports that will be mentioned in more detail below; and IAEA, with other international organisations, has revised the International Basic Safety Standards that define requirements to satisfy the fundamental safety objective of protecting people and the environment from harmful effects of ionising radiation (IAEA, 2011).
Other efforts at national and international level also nurtured the process of development of a system for environmental protection, notably the work promoted by the International Union of Radioecology (IUR, 2012). The European Commission's initiatives FASSET (Larsson, 2004) and ERICA (Larsson, 2008), and the US Department of Energy's Biota Dose Assessment Committee (US Department of Energy, 2002) also provided significant contributions.
In 2003, the system of radiological protection, as it related to the environment, was entirely dependent on the belief that the standards of environmental control needed to protect humans to the degree currently thought desirable will ensure that other species are not put at risk (ICRP, 1991). In Publication 91 (ICRP, 2003), ICRP acknowledged that this system provided indirect protection of the human habitat, but that a more comprehensive approach to study the effects on, and thus the protection of, all living matter with respect to ionising radiation should be developed. This publication further identified the principles of environmental protection, and proposed a framework for assessing the impacts of ionising radiation on non-human species, based on a reference flora and fauna approach.
The 2007 Recommendations of ICRP (ICRP, 2007) effectively extended the system of protection to address protection of the environment, including flora and fauna, more explicitly. These recommendations explore the objectives of environmental protection and explain the basis for the proposed Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs), which are a small set of hypothetical entities that are representative of animals and plants present in different environments (terrestrial, freshwater, marine) and which form the basis of a structured approach to the assessment of exposures to, and effects of, ionising radiation.
The concept and use of RAPs was dealt with in more detail in Publication 108 (ICRP, 2008), which contains information on the assumed biology, dosimetry, and available effects database for these entities. A range of Derived Consideration Reference Levels (DCRLs) were also proposed for each of the RAPs as numerical guidance for evaluating the level of potential or actual radiological impacts and as an input to decision making. These values were defined in terms of bands of doses within which certain effects have been noted, with a focus on those which may have some impact on the population structures of the animals and plants under consideration. In 2009, Publication 114 was issued (ICRP, 2009), providing transfer parameters for the set of RAPs.
The present report, which results from a joint effort of ICRP Committees 4 and 5, consolidates the suite of ICRP recommendations on environmental protection and provides further guidance on their application. It places the assessment of potential impacts on animals and plants within the existing system of radiological protection. In particular, it provides a mechanism for allowing environmental considerations to be included in the identification of the best management options, as part of the optimisation process. At the planning stage, the approach will allow practical environmental considerations to be part of decisions about minimising the possibility of potential exposures. During normal operations, the approach will allow explicit demonstration of the level of radiological protection of flora and fauna, as part of the process of routine assessment and surveillance. The approach will also allow impacts on animals and plants to be assessed and managed in a more informed manner in seeking solutions to existing exposures as a result of past practices or accidents. Finally, it will allow the significance of the impact of a severe emergency situation on animals and plants to be assessed where appropriate. Thus, this approach allows protection of the environment to be considered in a more explicit manner in all the exposure situations, and provides an objective basis for better management of environmental resources.
It is worth noting that, although this report represents a significant milestone in the development of an approach for environmental radiation protection, its publication does not represent the end of the story. The ICRP framework and its application are open to future inputs from the scientific community. Indeed, ICRP recognises that protection of the environment is a complex issue and that its framework cannot be expected to solve all relevant issues immediately; after all, it has taken almost 40 years for the system of radiological protection for humans to reach its current state of development. It is anticipated that this approach will serve to provide a mechanism to inspire future scientific activities and to help define priorities. Its strength is that it can serve as a starting point to assess and manage the radiological impact on non-human species, and as a concrete reference against which to analyse the need for expansion or alternative solutions to the concept of RAPs in the future.
In developing its framework, ICRP has successfully navigated a difficult course between a range of external and internal expectations and drivers. The external situation has been tempered by the markedly different opinions among members of the radiological protection community, particularly in the early stages. Many argued that no change in the existing system of radiological protection was necessary given that humans and the environment were already adequately protected by current safety levels, and that the existing hypothesis has been confirmed by numerous studies in the context of normal exposures. The main driver for change has been the increasing awareness in society, since the 1990s, of the need for equitable consideration of economic development and environmental protection, which has been reflected in the establishment of formal international and national legal instruments related to, for example, conservation, sustainability, and biodiversity. In light of this, ICRP has responded to growing international consensus that, for certain situations, methods that allow explicit evaluation of the potential impact of releases of radioactivity to the environment are a necessary input to decision making.
In undertaking this work, ICRP also specified a number of internal conditions that are worthy of note. It determined that complexity of the framework for protection of the environment, including the assessment of impacts on flora and fauna, should be commensurate with the level of risk, such that its application would facilitate the best use of appropriate resources and avoid the expenditure of unnecessary effort. ICRP also specified that the approach should be compatible with both the existing system of radiological protection and current methods for assessing the effects of other environmental stressors. Finally, ICRP set out to develop a method that was based on best use of the current level of scientific knowledge, while allowing the new information to be collected and incorporated into the approach in the future.
At the end of an eventful decade, with the publication of the present report, organisations with the mandate to develop further international and national standards have the basis for developing practical guidance and standards that allow the environment to be considered in a more explicit manner that ultimately reinforce the system of radiological protection.
On a completely different subject, this issue of Annals of the ICRP is the first to be published by SAGE UK. From 1928 to 1959, ICRP reports, including those under ICRP's former name – International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee – were published as articles or on behalf of ICRP by other organisations. What later became known as Publication 1 (ICRP, 1959) was the first volume issued by ICRP, published as a book by Pergamon Press. Eventually, ICRP moved to a journal format, producing Publication 24 as Volume 1, Issue 1 of Annals of the ICRP in 1977 (ICRP, 1977). In 2004, Pergamon Press was acquired by Elsevier, who continued to publish Annals of the ICRP for many years, up to and including Publication 123 (ICRP, 2013).
The move from Elsevier to SAGE was the result of a competitive process, and has been almost seamless thanks to the professionalism of both companies. It seems more like a move to SAGE than a move from Elsevier, with whom we continue to have very good relations. Examining the current issue, readers will see that we have not made any major changes in format to coincide with this change in publisher, and none are planned. It may be possible to detect a few minor style changes, but these are evolutionary improvements not unlike other small changes that have occurred over the last few years. ICRP looks forward to this new partnership with SAGE, together finding new and exciting ways to make it even easier for those with an interest in radiological protection to access the guidance and recommendations of ICRP.