Contribution de la Société française de radioprotection aux réflexions actuelles sur les possiblesaméliorations du système de gestion du risque radiologique

Abstract

Contribution of the French society for radiation protection to the current reflections onthe possible improvements of the radiological risk management system.Following the invitation from IRPA to comment on the article written by Professor Roger Clarke entitled"Control of Low Level Radiation Exposure: Time for a Change?", the Board of the French Society forRadiation Protection (SFRP) decided to set up a working group on "controllable dose". The latter, whichworked from April 1999 to July 2000, consisted of some twenty members representing the stakeholdersinvolved in radiological protection in France: authorities, experts and professionals from nuclear,medical and research fields as well as associative movement. The present article, which has been approvedby the Board of SFRP, summarises the findings of the WG presented during the IRPA-10 Congress in May 2000.The WG first examined the current hypothesis on radiological risk and noted their relevance for apractical management of such a risk. Then, a list of the different exposure situations and theirassociated characteristic was elaborated in a table form, followed by a discussion on the situations whenthe system of radiological protection fits well, less well or bad, particularly through the implementationof the general principles of radiological protection. The WG finally made proposals to ICRP for anevolution of the system towards a more operational way.