Protection of the environment from the effects of ionising radiation.

The International Commission on Radiological Protection has existed for 75 yearsand throughout that time has produced recommendations for the protection of peopleagainst the dangers of ionizing radiation. It recognized some 25 years ago that the envi-ronment should also be protected, but the policy was to assume that the protection ofpeople was sufficient to protect other species. The Commission thus regarded the envi-ronmental transfer of radionuclides as important only for the purposes of evaluatingdoses to people. In 2000 the ICRP established a Task Group to recommend whether theCommission should be more specific with regard to protection of the environment and,if so, how it should be addressed. This paper traces the development of the ICRP policyfor environmental radioactivity to the present time.