The commission on radiological protection through publication 118 decided to recommend a change to the eye dose limit in 2011. ICRP recommendations made in publications, especially ‘publication 60’ and its subsequent update ‘publication 103’ has served as standards for regulatory authorities worldwide in limiting ionizing radiation exposure both to workers and members of the public. For example in Canada, the Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission (CNSC) generally directly adopts recommendations from ICRP. The previous dose limit for the lens of the eye was 150 mSv year-1, based on Publication 60 and 103. Regulatory agencies worldwide have been using this value and subsequently nuclear facilities, hospitals and universities have designed their radiation protection program based on this dose limit for several decades. The new revised eye dose limit now being equivalent to the whole body dose limit will pose significant challenges for sectors where the eye exposure was not characterized as the limit was previously five times over the whole body exposure.
A two-step approach was used in conducting this study, firstly a through literature search was conducted on the effects of ionizing radiation to the eye, its radiobiology, fundamentals in established both dose limits was analyzed. Secondly, the authors spent time researching institutions that use ionizing radiation and interviewed engineers, medical physicists, radiation safety officers and regulators from a wide array of fields and industries. Based on the ICRP publications, the review of the literature and the interviews conducted with the nuclear industry, there is consensus in Canada and among IAEA member states that the dose limit for the lens of the eye should be reduced from the original proposed limit of 150 mSv per year. However not to the recommendations suggested by ICRP 118, but, to a standard reasonable and an achievable limit that is 50 mSv per year. / Thesis / Master of Science (MSc) / The International Commission on Radiological Protection (“ICRP”), the independent governing body responsible for radiation protection, since the early 1950s has been issuing recommendations that are widely used as radiological protection standards by regulatory agencies worldwide, primarily UN member states. Since its inception in 1928, the ICRP has served as the basis for radiation protection and value based judgements in protecting both human and non-human biota. In 2011, the commission published (ICRP Pub. 118) its review of epidemiological studies and decided to recommend a change to the previously established eye dose limit.
Based on the review of the literature and the research conducted within the academic, veterinary, nuclear and medical industry, there is general consensus in Canada and among IAEA members states that the dose limit for the lens of the eye should be reduced from the original proposed limit, but not to the recommendations suggested by ICRP 118.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:mcmaster.ca/oai:macsphere.mcmaster.ca:11375/27621 |
| Date | January 2018 |
| Creators | Das, Ryan |
| Contributors | Mcneill, Fiona, Chettle, David, Chambers, Douglas, Medical Physics |
| Source Sets | McMaster University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
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