NCRP, A Small Voluntary Organization, Makes Big Contributions To U.S. Science

Contributions To U.S. Science Author: Charles Meinhold In the popular press, there is a tendency to equate science with big-ticket items like space exploration and the Human Genome Project, so that "small" science is relegated to the science section, if mentioned at all. But the contribution made to the national welfare by small scientific organizations can, in fact, loom large. For example, essentially all of the United States standards for limiting exposure to ionizing radiation were originally developed by the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP), a small, voluntary scientific organization. For more than 60 years, NCRP has been making use of the talents of a cadre of outstanding volunteers to provide society with a scientific consensus on important problems connected with radiation. Those participating in the council's program come from every field of science related to radiation protection and measurements (both ionizing and nonionizing). Seventy-five of these participants serve as members of the council, elected for six-year terms, and more than 500 others serve on the 40 NCRP scientific committees. Only the president receives compensation for the time and energy devoted to this public service. The congressional charter of the council as a private, nongovernmental organization was granted in 1964. It begins with a statement of the most important objective: to "collect, analyze, develop and disseminate in the public interest information and recommendations about (a) protection against radiation and (b) radiation measurements, quantities, and units, particularly those concerned with radiation protection." The council meets this objective primarily through NCRP reports on topics in radiation protection and measurement. The reports go through an extensive, but extraordinarily effective, peer-review process. A report cannot be published if more than two of the 75 council members disapprove. Honorary members and representatives of nearly 60 collaborating organizations are also invited to offer comments and suggestions. Topics addressed by these reports over the past several years include the measurement of radio- frequency fields, risk estimates for radiation protection, dose limits for ionizing radiation, exposure criteria for medical diagnostic ultrasound, calibration of radiation survey instruments, development of emergency plans for small radiation facilities, effects of ionizing radiation on aquatic organisms, and the conceptual basis for the calculation of absorbed dose distributions. An important consideration is the intended audience for NCRP reports. For example, the reports on the limitation of exposure to ionizing radiation were not written simply as input to the relevant government regulatory bodies, but also as guidance for the users of radiation equipment and radioactive materials who require a radiation-protection program in their own institution. They can gather information from the reports that permits them to put together a far more effective program than could be produced via regulatory requirements alone. Another means used by the council to satisfy its charter requirement to disseminate information is its annual meeting, held in April in Washington, D.C. The 1994 meeting explored the potential hazards of extremely low-frequency electromagnetic fields. The 1995 meeting addressed environmental dose reconstruction and risk implications. The 1996 meeting will deal with new information on cancer risk, and the 1997 meeting will deal with genetic and reproductive risks. Philosophically, where does NCRP stand on radiation-protection issues? For ionizing radiation, we recognize, for example, that there is clearly an excess of cancer in Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima/Nagasaki atomic bombings of World War II and the magnitude of the excess is directly related to the level of radiation exposure. The quantitative estimate of how much that increase is per unit of exposure we understand, but with less confidence, since estimation of the historical exposure is not an exact science. We also accept, for the practice of radiation protection, that there is direct proportionality between the level of radiation exposure and the risk of cancer, based on data obtained from large exposures received over a very short time. Here we must rely on a host of assumptions, depending primarily on biophysical models; on animal, cellular, and molecular studies; and on ever- improving information from radioepidemiology. While we have growing confidence in our knowledge of the risk of cancer at the level of our occupational exposure limits, interpreting the information for exposures at the levels set for public exposure is less certain. Thus, NCRP, born in 1929 as the Advisory Group on X-ray and Radium Safety, now addresses protection against radiation in all its forms. Its scientists, dedicated to the protection of humans and their environment without denying the extraordinary benefits of these technologies, exemplifies the contribution of "small science" to the public interest. Charles Meinhold is president of the National Council on Radiation Protection and Measurements in Bethesda, Md. (The Scientist, Vol:9, #15, pg.11 , July 24, 1995) (Copyright © The Scientist, Inc.) garfield@aurora.cis.upenn.edu

NCRP, A Small Voluntary Organization, Makes Big Contributions To U.S. Science

Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of