ICRP History

ICRP was established in 1928 at the second International Congress of Radiology to respond to growing concerns about the effects of ionizing radiation being observed in the medical community. At the time it was called the International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee, but was restructured to better take account of uses of radiation outside the medical area and given its present name in 1950. Originally, ICRP published its recommendations and advice as papers in various scientific journals in the fields of medicine and physics. Since 1959, ICRP has its own series of publications, since 1977 in the shape of a scientific journal, the Annals of the ICRP, which is published Elsevier Science.		The History of ICRP and the Evolution of its Policies (published in ICRP Publication 109)

History Milestones 1920s:   Radiation regulations exist in several countries.   1925:   The first ICR takes place in London, England and the ICRU is formed, at the time named the ‘International X-ray Unit Committee’.   1928:   IXRPC established at second ICR in Stockholm, Sweden. Rolf Sievert is named Chairman and George Kaye is named the Scientific Secretary of IXRPC. IXRPC members include Lauriston Taylor and Val Mayneord, the only two medical doctors on the IXRPC. Recommendations began to be published in various journals and proceedings.   1931:   IXRPC meets at ICR in Paris.   1934:   The ‘C’ in IXRPC changes from committee to commission.   1950:   The first post-war ICR takes place in London, England and the IXRPC is renamed to ICRP to include uses of radiation other than medical. Sievert remains an active member and Sir Ernest Rock Carling is appointed as Chairman and Taylor acts as secretary. After the ICR Walter Binks takes over as scientific secretary. A new set of rules is drafted for the work of ICRP and the selection of its members.   1952:   An informal ICRP meeting occurs in Stockholm, Sweden.   1953:   A formal ICRP meeting occurs at the seventh ICR in Copenhagen, Denmark.   1956:   The Commission and committees meet independently from ICR in Geneva, Switzerland. ICRP becomes affiliated with World Health Organization (WHO) as a ‘participating non-governmental organisation’.   1957:   Walter Binks retires and Bo Lindell becomes the temporary secretary, then goes on to become the Scientific Secretary.   1959:   ICRP has its own series of numbered publications. The first publication is published based on the 1956 meeting in Geneva, Switzerland. ICRP establishes relationships with various organizations including the IAEA.   1960:   Ford Foundation provides ICRP with its first grant of $250,000   1962:   The first full-time, paid scientific secretary, F. David Sowby is established at the eighth ICR in Montreal.   1975:   Recommendations now published in a dedicated journal, the Annals of ICRP.   1977:   The basic principles of Justification, Optimisation and Dose Limitation are introduced.   1990:   Reduction of the dose limits to those used today.   2005:   Remit broadened to include protection of the environment.   2007:   Current fundamental recommendations (ICRP Publication 103).   2011:   First International Symposium on the System of Radiological Protection.

External History Milestones 1895:   Discovery of X-ray by Wilhelm Roentgen   1896:   Discovery of radioactivity by Henri Becquerel   1898:   Isolation of polonium and radium by Pierre and Marie Curie   1914-1918:   The First World War   1939-1945:   The Second World War   1945:   Atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki   1948:   Blockade of Berlin, marking the escalation of the Cold War   1951:   Execution of the world's first cancer treatment with Cobalt-60 in Canada   1953:   Delivery of the "Atoms for Peace" speech by United States President Dwight Eisenhower at the United Nations   1954:   A radiological accident at Bikini Atoll due to a United States thermonuclear weapon test   1954:   The world's first nuclear power plant connected to a grid in Obninsk, Russia   1957:   Creation of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)   1957:   A fire at the Windscale piles in United Kingdom   1957:   Launching of Sputnik, the world's first artificial satellite, by the Soviet Union   1962:   Cuban Missile Crisis   1963:   Signing of the Partial Test Ban Treaty   1965:   Escalation of the Vietnam War   1968:   Signing of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty   1970s:   The radon problem in mines and homes highlighted   1972:   U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit to China   1972:   Signing of the London Convention regulating the ocean disposal of radioactive waste   1972:   CT (computed tomography) invented   1979:   A nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, USA   1986:   A nuclear power plant accident at Chernobyl, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)   1989:   Fall of the Berlin Wall, marking the end of the Cold War   1991:   Dissolution of the Soviet Union   1996:   Signing of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty   2011:   A nuclear power plant accident at Fukushima, Japan