The mandate and work of ICRP Committee 2 on doses from radiation exposure

The practical implementation of the International Commission on Radiological Protection’s (ICRP) system of radiological protection requires the availability of appropriate methodology and data. Over many years, ICRP Committee 2 has provided sets of dose coefficients to allow users to evaluate equivalent and effective doses for radiation exposures of workers and members of the public. The methodology being applied in the calculation of doses is state-of-the-art in terms of the biokinetic models used to describe the behaviour of inhaled and ingested radionuclides, and the dosimetric models used to model radiation transport for external and internal exposures. This overview provides an outline of recent work and future plans, including publications on dose coefficients for adults, children, and in-utero exposures, with new dosimetric phantoms in each case. For the first time, ICRP will publish dose coefficients for intakes of radon isotopes calculated using dosimetric models. Committee 2 is also working with Committee 3 on dose coefficients for radiopharmaceuticals, and leading a cross-committee initiative to provide advice on the use of effective dose. The remit of Committee 2 has now been widened to include all data requirements for the assessment of doses to humans and non-human biota.