About SSK

Tasks

Pursuant to § 2, of the Public Announcement of the Foundation of a Commission on Radiological Protection on January 9, 1999, SSK is assigned with the task of advising the competent Federal Ministry in matters concerning the protection against hazards arising from the exposure to ionizing radiation. Since 1988, this includes the protection against hazards from also non-ionizing radiation. In detail, the tasks of SSK are:

• radiation effects and dose-effect-relationships,
• preparation of proposals for dose limitations and derived limits,
• observation of the exposure to total population, special population groups and workers,
• suggestions for and participation in the preparation of guidelines and special measures of protection against hazards arising from ionizing and non-ionizing radiation,
• participation in the development of guidelines on emergency management as well as the planning of measures to reduce the radiation exposure in the event of a nuclear emergency or catastrophe,
• development of general dispersion models of radionuclides released into air and waste water from nuclear industrial installations and from medical facilities using radioactive substances. This includes the evaluation of reports from radioecology experts, as well as a review and the comparison of dispersion models with results obtained from actual measurements,
• advising the Federal Ministry in evaluating the recommendations for radiological protection developed by international panels,
• deliberation on German contributions, requested by international panels from Federal Government,
• advising the Federal Ministry on the preparation of research programmes on radiological protection topics, as well as giving them scientific support.

Pursuant to its statute, SSK is authorized, by mutual agreement with the competent Federal Ministry or upon its request, to appoint committees for special tasks and to assign their responsibilities. In agreement with the Federal Ministry, such committees may, in turn, appoint special working groups for specific problem areas.

Seven committees are currently assisting the commission; their respective tasks are briefly outlined as follows:

Committee on "Radiation Risk" (founded at the SSK constituent meeting of 24-26 June, l987, 1st session held on November 30, 1987)

1. Medical-biological effects of ionizing radiation
2. Health risk assessment of ionizing radiation in the working and in the private environment, evaluated on the basis of epidemiological data
3. Probabilities of causation of diseases following the exposure to ionizing radiation
4. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. EURATOM directives, ICRP recommendations)
5. Scientific monitoring of the health data of the former SDAG Wismut (“German Uranium Miners Studies”)
6. Contributions to risk communication
7. Evaluation of low radiation doses, of the bystander effect, radiation induced genomic instability, and of individual radiosensitivity
8. Comparative assessment of different environmental risks

Committee on "Radiological Protection in Medicine" (founded at the constituent session of SSK on October 17, 1974, 1st meeting held on November 14, 1974)

1. Practical implementation of radiation protection principles
2. General evaluation of diagnostic radiation exposure in medicine (benefit – risk ? dose saving)
   • Mamma diagnostics
   • Mammography screening
   • Comparison of conventional X-ray diagnostics with other methods (NMR, ultrasound, PET, SPECT etc.)
3. Evaluation of new radiotherapeutic applications
4. Radiation protection in the application of radioactive substances and ionizing radiation in medical research
5. Qualification of radiation protection physicians, medical physics experts, and other medical personnel
6. Development and updating of criteria for referrals to radiological and nuclear-medical examinations
7. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. EURATOM directives, ICRP recommendations).

Committee on "Radioecology"
(founded at the 2nd session of SSK on December 4/5, 1974, 1st session held on February 4, 1975)

1. Statements on the monitoring of natural environmental radioactivity
2. Limitation and monitoring of emissions and immissions of radioactive substances
3. Radioecological models and methods of calculation
4. Radiation exposure of the general public and at workplaces due to natural or artificial radionuclides
5. Protection of the environment against the detrimental effects of ionizing radiation; radiation exposure of animals and plants
6. Pursuit of national and international developments in the field of radioecology
7. General concepts for release from regulatory control (clearance) and exemption levels
8. Harmonization of assumptions, parameters, and units of different calculational models used in Germany
9. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. EURATOM directives, ICRP recommendations).

Committee on "Radiological Protection Technology"
(founded at the constituent session of SSK on October 17, 1974, 1st session held on November 5, 1974)

1. Determination of external and internal radiation exposure
2. Radiation protection at work during operation and decommissioning
3. Exemption limit and clearance regulations including surface contamination levels for artificial and natural radioactive substances
4. Determination of radiation exposure due to radon
5. Radiation protection relating to the clearance of radioactive substances with low activity
6. Radioactivity in consumer goods and other products, among others, justification
7. Type approvals
8. Radiation protection in the field of transport of radioactive materials
9. Pursuit of national and international developments relating to items 1-8
10. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. EURATOM directives, ICRP).

Committee on "Emergency Management in the Environment of Nuclear Installations" (founded at the constituent session of SSK on October 17, 1974, 1st session held on November 12, 1974)

1. Technical fundamentals for rules and standards relating to radiological emergency management
2. Measures in the field of radiological emergency management and precautionary radiation protection
3. Professional support for the updating and application of decision-aid systems
4. International exchange of data and information in case of nuclear emergencies (ECURIE, EMERCON, EURDEP)
5. Advice on issues regarding information of the public
6. Pursuit of new international recommendations and standards in the field of radiological emergency management and analysis of their applicability in Germany
7. Evaluation of actual, radiologically relevant courses of events with respect to their consequences for the emergency management concept
8. Evaluation of national and international exercises, suggestions where the focus should be in national exercises
9. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. EURATOM directives, ICRP).

Committee on "Non-ionizing Radiation"
(founded at the 84th session of SSK on June 30/July 1, lst session held on September 28/29, 1988)

1. Evaluation of health effects of non-ionizing radiation taking into account physical characteristics, possible interaction mechanisms, especially of ultraviolet radiation, radio waves and microwaves, low-frequency electric and magnetic fields, static fields, ultrasound and infrasound, and laser radiation
2. Recommendations on the protection from health effects due to non-ionizing radiation
3. Recommendation on the protection of the population from UV radiation (sun, sunbeds, medicine)
4. Recommendations on the protection from electromagnetic fields in the environment
5. Evaluation of the application of non-ionizing radiation in the medical field in cooperation with the committee on “Radiological Protection in Medicine”
6. Evaluation of epidemiological studies on the application of non-ionizing radiation in cooperation with the committee on “Radiation Risk”
7. Statements and recommendations on the national implementation of international directives and recommendations (e. g. ICNIRP, WHO, and European committees such as SCENIHR).

Committee on "Radiological Protection in Nuclear Installations"
(founded at the 11th session of SSK on December 16/17, 1976, 1st session held on January 26, 1977)

1. Advice on radiological questions raised in connection with supervisory procedures for certain nuclear facilities
2. Advice on issues relating to the limitation of radioactive emissions and occupational radiation protection as far as licensing-specific problems are concerned
3. Development of recommendations and statements on the individual licensing procedures
4. Advice on and development of statements on changes of KTA standards
5. Advice on issues relating to the development of recommendations, directives, and guidelines and on radiation protection in nuclear installations
6. Advice on radiation protection issues relating to the decommissioning and dismantling of nuclear installations

Next to the seven committees, 20 working groups are currently working on special tasks in agreement with the competent Federal Ministry.

In the field of nuclear installation safety, the Reactor Safety Commission (RSK) advises the Federal Ministry in related matters. From the nature of the assigned tasks follows the mutually complementary standpoint taken by the commissions when advising on questions concerning reactor safety and radiological protection. As there were sometimes close correlations between safety and radiation protection issues, it was necessary for the two commissions to be in agreement on those issues until 1998. For this purpose, the chairmen of SSK and RSK often mutually exchanged the protocols of their commission's sessions and decisions. The recommendations and statements, prepared within the framework of licensing procedures for nuclear installations, are included by the Reactor Safety Commission in its own detailed recommendations for the individual installation.