ICRP and radiation protection of medical staff

Abstract

Committee 3 (Protection in Medicine) and Committee 4 (Application of Recommendations) of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) deal with the protection of medical staff. In the last 10 years, the Committee on Protection in Medicine has been involved in the preparation of 12 publications, some of which include specific recommendations on occupational RP. This paper summarizes the most relevant aspects of these recommendations on RP for medical staff. The most recent publication on Radiation Dose to Patients from Radiopharmaceuticals contains an annex on hand exposure in radio-pharmacies. Radiation detriment from exposure of both radiological staff and other individuals is considered as part of the justification of medical exposures and of the optimization process. ICRP advises on the uncertainty concerning the risk of cataracts and puts particular emphasis on optimization in situations of exposure of the eyes. Some recommendations on staff protection are included in the documents on computed tomography, digital radiology, pregnancy, discharge of patients after therapy and interventional radiology. The contents related to staff RP in the coming publications of the Committee (pediatric, cardiology, and fluoroscopy) are also summarized.