Abstract

The currently internationally practiced radiation protection system is based on the fundamental recommendation published as Publication 103 by the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in 2007. For several years, it has been the declared intention of the ICRP to open the discussion on radiation protection issues beyond the inner circle of the Main Commission members and its four committees, providing the global radiation protection community with more opportunities to participate. Under the title "The Future of Radiological Protection," a workshop of the ICRP, which generated much interest, took place at the end of 2021, which can be seen as a starting point for a broad and globally conducted debate on the future design of the radiation protection system.

The German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV) has asked the German Commission on Radiological Protection (SSK) to participate in this debate and to examine to what extent the topics and aspects, which are intended for revision by the ICRP, are comprehensive. If necessary, the SSK should make supplementary proposals on how the previously identified relevant topics and aspects should be comprehensibly justified, prioritized, and potentially complemented from the SSK's perspective.

The key points of the resulting statement from the SSK are as follows:

Among the thematic areas that have been continuously and sometimes controversially discussed both before and after the publication of ICRP 103 in the international scientific community, the basic assumption is that the dose-risk relationship for stochastic effects can be adjusted by a linear relationship without a threshold dose (LNT model). The LNT model for radiation protection is one of the most, if not the most, important assumptions on which large parts of the entire radiation protection field rely on. Closely linked with the fundamental principle of LNT are other assumptions, models, and parameters conceptually integrated into the radiation protection system. This includes, in particular, the concept of the dose and dose-rate effectiveness factor (DDREF), detriments, and radiation and tissue weighting factors.

Superior to these concepts are always considerations, particularly related to the practicability, transparency, individualization, resilience, and acceptance of radiation protection structures. A proper balance must be established between conservatism and realism, continuity and the need for adaptation to new knowledge or requirements, and numerous other conflicting goals.

As well, greater attention should be given to the consideration of uncertainties and their sources in radiation protection.