Radiological protection

Abstract

The fundamental objective of Radiological Protection is to reduce the hazard arising from the use of radioisotopes to as low a level as is reasonably achievable, social and economic factors being taken into account. Requirements are contained in the various items of legislation concerned with the protection of radiation workers, the general workforce, the population at large and the environment, the assumption being that if humans are protected then other living species are unlikely to be harmed. These legislative requirements should not be considered as working levels but rather as maximum levels, never to be exceeded except possibly under accident or planned emergency conditions. Radiation doserate records appear to indicate that this is the view taken by the vast majority of employers, since mean yearly doserates for classified workers average about one-tenth of the maximum permitted levels laid down in the legislation, with less than 1% of workers exceeding the maximum levels. Even so, it is these radiation workers who are most at risk since they are in close contact with the radioactive material and most effort must be expended on their protection.