The International Radiological Protection School (IRPS) was organized by the OECD Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA) in co-operation with the Swedish Radiation Safety Authority (SSM) and the Centre for Radiation Protection Research (CRPR) of Stockholm University. The School was held in Stockholm between 14th to 18th August, 2023. It provided a clear understanding of the radiological protection system, its history and development.The programme, held over five days, consisted of professional presentations, illustrative case studies and discussion sessions, in which e.g., current challenges of the radiological protection, remediation of a contaminated environment, environmental monitoring strategies, emergency and recovery management and site release were discussed. The programme also had one practical exercise in observing cell chromosomal damage in the laboratory of Stockholm University.
The key topics of the IRPS were the foundation of the international radiological protection framework, building a system of protection around exposure situations and categories of exposure, evolving issues related to, e.g., ethics, radiological protection of the environment, stakeholder involvement and public communication, and state of the art of the radiological protection underlying science. The learning objectives of the IRPS included understanding how and why the radiological protection system has evolved to take into account the scientific evidence and the lessons learnt from its application, and understanding how the system is incorporated into the national regulatory frameworks, and how its application varies in the international context.
Moreover, it also included putting the radiological protection system into the context of radiological protection culture, and illustrating leadership skills through presentations and case studies. Evaluation and discussing how the radiological protection system could evolve and stay at the state of the art, as well as developing a network of radiological protection excellence among participants from various fields were also the learning objectives of the IRPS. The IRPS was excellently organized and gave participants lots of opportunities to learn, think, discuss, and network over the radiological protection frame.
