The Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety-30 years of international coordination of radiation protection and safety matters.

The Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety (IACRS) was constituted in 1990, as a forum for collaboration and coordination between international bodies with regards to radiation safety. It consists today of representatives of eight intergovernmental member organizations (the European Commision, Food and Agriculture Organization, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Labour Office, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development/ Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA), Pan American Health Organization, United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and the World Health Organization) and five observer non-governmental organizations (International Commission on Radiological Protection, International Commission on Radiation Units & Measurements, International Electrotechnical Commission, International Radiation Protection Association and International Organization for Standardization). The IACRS provides a platform for interaction between these relevant international bodies to contribute to a common understanding of the scientific basis and legal framework for the application of the system of radiation protection, towards global harmonisation of radiation safety standards. The IACRS played a key role in the development of the International Basic Safety Standards (BSS) in 1996 and in its revision in 2014. Further, an IACRS specific Task Group-chaired by the IAEA-fosters the implementation of the BSS in a consistent and coherent manner in all Member States of the United Nations. The IACRS operates via a standing secretariat jointly provided by the IAEA and OECD/NEA and is chaired by one of its member organizations on a rotating basis for periods of about 18 months. This approach has proved to be effective and was the foundation for ensuring continuity of the work of the committee and at the same time allowing a rotating leadership for all member organizations. Currently, the IACRS is chaired by the WHO. The International Radiation Safety Framework under which the IACRS works is structured around four main areas: (a) science; (b) principles; (c) standards; and (d) practice. This paper presents briefly the mandates, roles and functions of the various international bodies that are relevant to the four above mentioned areas of work, discusses how these bodies coordinate their actions and complement each other to enhance radiation protection and safety worldwide and describes their contribution to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. The paper also provides an overview of the main accomplishments of the IACRS since its inception 30 years ago, and an outlook on key challenges for its future activities.

Modernisation and consolidation of the European radiation protection legislation: the new Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive.

With the publication of new basic safety standards for the protection against the dangers arising from exposure to ionising radiation, foreseen in Article 2 and Article 30 of the Euratom Treaty, the European Commission modernises and consolidates the European radiation protection legislation. A revision of the Basic Safety Standards was needed in order (1) to take account of the scientific and technological progress since 1996 and (2) to consolidate the existing set of Euratom radiation protection legislation, merging five Directives and upgrading a recommendation to become legally binding. The new Directive offers in a single coherent document basics safety standards for radiation protection, which take account of the most recent advances in science and technology, cover all relevant radiation sources, including natural radiation sources, integrate protection of workers, members of the public, patients and the environment, cover all exposure situations, planned, existing, emergency, and harmonise numerical values with international standards. After the publication of the Directive in the beginning of 2014, Member States have 4 y to transpose the Directive into national legislation and to implement the requirements therein.

Revision of the Euratom Basic Safety Standards Directive--current status.

The European Commission is currently developing a revised Euratom Basic Safety Standards (BSS) Directive covering two major objectives: the consolidation of existing Euratom Radiation Protection legislation and the revision of the Euratom BSS. The consolidation will merge the following five Directives into one single Directive: the BSS Directive, the Medical Exposures Directive, the Public Information Directive, the Outside Workers Directive and the Directive on the Control of high-activity sealed radioactive sources and orphan sources. The revision of the Euratom BSS will take account of the latest recommendations by the International Commission on Radiological Protection and shall improve clarity of the requirements where appropriate. It is planned to introduce more binding requirements on natural radiation sources, on criteria for exemption and clearance, and on the cooperation between Member States for emergency planning and response. The provisions for regulatory control of planned exposure situations foresee a graded approach commensurate to the magnitude and likelihood of exposures from a practice. Finally, the new BSS shall take account of recent scientific developments. One additional goal is to achieve greater harmonisation between the Euratom BSS and the international BSS. While the requirements on the protection of workers, apprentices and students remain nearly unchanged, the revised BSS will clarify the roles and responsibilities of services and experts involved in technical and practical aspects of radiation protection, such as the occupational health services, the dosimetry services, the radiation protection expert and the medical physics expert. The requirements in the BSS on individual monitoring of category A workers remain unchanged, but the existing guidance on individual monitoring was revised and updated--the technical recommendations for monitoring individuals occupationally exposed to external radiation are published by the European Commission. This paper summarises the current status of the revision of the Euratom BSS Directive.