International Commission on Radiological Protection

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, which provides recommendations and guidance on radiation protection.

It was founded in 1928 by at the second International Congress of Radiology in Stockholm, Sweden and was then called the International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee (IXRPC). In 1950 it was restructured to take account of new uses of radiation outside the medical area, and given its present name.

The ICRP is a sister organisation to the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU). In general terms ICRU defines the units, and ICRP recommends, develops and maintains the International System of Radiological Protection which uses these units.

Operation

The ICRP is a not-for-profit organisation registered as a charity in the United Kingdom and has its scientific secretariat in Ottawa, Canada.

It is an independent, international organisation with more than two hundred volunteer members from approximately thirty countries on six continents, who represent the world's leading scientists and policy makers in the field of radiological protection.