At the initiative of the SFRP Commission on International Relations, and in collaboration with the German-Swiss (FS), Austrian (ÖVS) and Frenchs-peaking Swiss (ARRAD) radiation protection societies, a first working seminar took place in Strasbourg on the 19th and 20th of May.Over these two work-intensive days, three task forces turned their attention to three topics put forward for discussion by each of the societies: RP culture, the management and control of normally-occurring radioactive materials (NORM) within our respective countries, and lastly, the concept of exemption/clearance. Part of this newsletter is devoted to the seminar’s main conclusions.The French “RP culture” initiative, which has been recognized by the IRPA’s executive council, is gaining momentum. The WHO has expressed its determination to join the debate on RP culture in the medical sector. On the occasion of a brainstorming seminar which was held at the end of May, the EAN (European ALARA Network) decided to set up a task force in order to participate in this initiative. Finally, the Spanish society hosted its first special day on this topic on June 5th, while the Italian society, which set up a task force on the topic of communication, has officially requested permission to be involved in the initiative.

Before extending this debate to the other continents in 2010, the next stages will include the annual meeting of European society chairmen to be held in Zagreb this coming October, and the international “RP culture” seminar to be held in Paris on 14th and 15th December, open to all interested societies We should not forget that on the occasion of its Executive Council meeting last February, IRPA expressed its intent to “become the voice of all RP professionals”. Through the intermediary of these initiatives, the SFRP will be actively involved in this ambitious programme!

Bernard Le Guen- Chairman of the Commission on International Relations

Edito: European societies joining forces: a reality in 2009!

N° 4 • july 2009

the Commission on International Relations

NORM task force Clearance/exemption task force

The task force examined the application of the clearance/exemption concepts used in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and France. The French representatives spoke about the zoning decree and its practical enforcement, while also describing the key components of the PNGMDR (National Programme for the Management of Radioactive Mate-rials and Waste) pertaining to the disposal of very-low level radioactive materials and waste. Potential outlets available in France were also discussed, and more speci-fically, the very-low-level waste repository at Morvilliers. Among the various discussions, one can notice the CERN case (European Organization for Nuclear Research), whose facilities are located on the border between France and Switzerland, with each of these countries taking a different approach to the management of very-low-level radioactive materials and waste (liberation versus the zoning decree). Expected regu-latory changes, including those concerning the BSS revision process and those being implemented further to the issuance of general ICRP recommendations in 2007 (publications no. 103) stimulated discussion, specifically regarding the absence of a “de minimis” exposure threshold in ICRP publication no. 103, e.g. a optimisation strategy should always be envisaged, irrespective of the exposure levels being considered. Discussions provided a clearer insight into the various countries’ practices, especially once they were placed in their respective historical, cultural, economic and social contexts. The group expressed its wish for further discussions on the subject so as to gain a clearer understanding of the various concepts broached on the occasion of these exchanges.

Thierry Schneider (thierry.schneider@cepn.asso.fr)

RP culture task force

The need for professionals to actively foster an RP culture has arisen in the wake of the two challenges facing the 21st century, namely, the growing number of medical applications of ionizing radiation world-wide, and the revival of the nuclear industry to cope with energy demand. The task force looked into ways of maintaining the protection levels attained in recent years, and of passing this knowledge on to future generations. The sharing of know-how and the dissemination of information among professionals without the notion of “property” are values that are shared by all RP societies. The concept of an RP culture based on risk awareness has many points in common with safety culture. It is multi-disciplinary while at the same time being universal and common to the entire community, be it medical or industrial. Radiation protection is not restricted to a specific type of facility: it takes an integrated approach which relies on the ALARA principle to bring about the continuous improvement of practices and fairness. The first meeting focused on attempts to come up with a preliminary definition where the term “RP culture” describes how radiation protection, which is regulated, assessed, monitored and preserved, is incorporated into day-to-day business by employees, practitioners, managers and regulators in accordance with their own attitudes, knowledge, beliefs, perceptions and common values. The definition also takes account of how RP is perceived by society. Indeed, radiation protection is not built upon a single organisation. RP culture is based on

a mutually transparent attitude and dynamic, where accountabilities are

clearly defined for each indi-vidual, be they operators or

regulatory authorities. The IRPA initiative will need

to devise ways of fostering this

The discussion on national approaches to naturally occurring radioactive materials (regulation and implementation) revealed some differences between Germany, France and Austria, although all are consistent with the current Euratom directive on Basic Safety Stan-dards (national positive list of relevant work activities + graduated approach). It also showed that the conventional RP system for prac-tices must be adapted to the specificities of NORM acti-vities (mainly, the ubiquity of natural radiation sources in the environment and the fact that radiation is not yet seen as a basic item of data in the licensing process of NORM activities). A message for keeping flexibility has been sent to EC which is preparing the draft of a new BSS directive.

Jean-François Lecomte (jean-francois.lecomte@irsn.fr)

The Spanish Radiation Protection Society invites the SFRP to a round-table discussion on the occasion of its national conference in Alicante

The Spanish Radiation Protection Society invited the SFRP to attend the Alicante conference held on the 5th of June, where it was represented by its chairman of the Commission on International Relations, who gave an account of the French RP society’s activities to represen-tatives of the Spanish, Brazilian, Portuguese, Columbian, Argentinean, Peruvian, Cuban and Mexican societies. On this occasion, these societies were invited to join in discussions on RP culture, to be held in Paris on the 14th and 15th of December.

Bernard Le Guen (bernard.le-guen@edf.fr)

ICRP 103 available in French

The International Commission on Radiolo-gical Protection (ICRP) regularly publishes general recommendations which constitute one of the main international reference documents in the fi eld of radiological

protection. The latest issue to have been published is no. 103, which came out at the end of 2007 (ICRP 103). It replaces issue no. 60, which came out in 1991 (ICRP 60). Actively involved in the work of the ICRP, the IRSN has produced a translation of ICRP 103. The French version is available free of charge on the IRSN web site.

http://net-science.irsn.org/scripts/net-science/publigen/content/templates/show.asp?P=5192&L=FR&SYNC=Y

RP culture programme in the United States!

This globally oriented initiative needed the support of US organizations to really get off the ground. Thanks to a successful outcome, the 2nd international seminar on RP culture will be held in December 2010 in the US. This US-hosted event will take place with the support of the American Health Physics Society (HPS), the American Association of Physicists in Medicine (AAPM) and the National Council on Radiation Protection and measu-rements (NCRP). An initial meeting took place in July 2009 with Ken Kase (IRPA president), Dick Tohey (HPS president 2008-2009), Howard Dickson (HPS president elected 2009-2010), Thomas Tenforde (NCRP president), Kimberly Applegate (pediatric radiologist, member of the NCRP executive council and chairman of the international working group for the Image Gently Campaign ( the goal is to reduce radiation exposure to children from medical imaging), Marie E Moore (AAPM), Lynne A. Fairobent (AAPM) and Bernard Le Guen (IRPA, SFRP). On the occasion of this meeting, a core group was set up for the purpose of arranging this forthcoming event.

Bernard le Guen (bernard.le-guen@edf.fr)

culture, while investigating ways of passing it on to future generations by drawing on a strong scientifi c, doctrinal and regulatory corpus, and by using basic tools (guidelines, application sheets, e-tools, etc.) for transferring know-how and experience through the intermediary of conferences and professional networks. Teaching cannot be confi ned to theory; it must be deli-vered to a highly professional standard and brought into the fi eld by involving professionals in activities including shadow training and on-the-job training, etc. In this way, RP professionals will have a direct infl uence on their future colleague’s behaviour by transmitting their expertise through word and deed. Day-to-day involvement in the fi eld is indispensable for reinforcing and fostering the concept of an RP culture.This initial meeting was used as an opportunity to devise a preliminary tool for assessing the level of RP culture within a team. Four stages of acquisition were defi ned along a time scale (see diagram). This tool enables indi-viduals and teams to assess their level of RP culture and compare themselves with others. The fi rst stage repre-sents the primary protective instinct that has not had the benefi t of training, and that is adopted when faced with risk. The second stage represents a more professional attitude, attained by undergoing theoretical training, further instilled through the enforcement of rules and regulations and lastly imposed by managers and work teams etc. The third stage marks the beginnings of an RP culture, as attitudes in day-to-day practice become natural, with the internalization of knowledge and experience. The fi nal stage denotes the same attitude, now shared by all those having assimilated the culture and interacting with each other in order to bring about continuous improvement.Scheduled for December and open to all societies, the next seminar will be used as an opportunity to elaborate on these initial proposals.

Bernard le Guen (bernard.le-guen@edf.fr)

N° 4 • july 2009

GET OUT YOUR DIARIES:

• The second announcement regarding the European

IRPA Congress 2010 in Helsinki is posted at:

http://www.congrex.fi /irpa2010europe/pdfs/

IRPA_2010_Second_Announcement_brochure_

lowres_quality.pdf

• 1st International Seminar on RP Culture

Paris 14 – 15 December 2009

• 2nd Seminar on American RP culture

USA December 2010

Editorial committee: Bernard Le Guen, Hervé Bernard, Philippe Bosquet, Josette Champlong, Jeannine Lallemand, Laurence Lebaron-Jacobs, Jean-Francois Lecomte, Jacques Lochard, Jacques Lombard. For any further information, please contact Bernard le Guen, Chairman of the Commission: ✆ : + (33) 1 43 69 18 76 – : + (33) 1 43 69 27 40 – e-mail : bernard.le-guen@edf.fr