966222
research-article2020
CRUXXX10.1177/1473669120966222Journal of the ICRU
Executive Summary
Current radiation protection legislation and regulation world-
wide is based on the three fundamental principles: justifica-
tion, limitation, and optimization of human exposure to
ionizing radiation, introduced by International Commission
on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in its Publication 26
(1977). The practical implementation of the limitation and
optimization principles requires a quantitative measure of
radiation exposure. In 1978, ICRP defined for this purpose
the protection quantity effective dose equivalent, HE. In ICRP
Publication 60 (1991), HE was replaced by the related quan-
tity, effective dose, E. Like HE, E is a measure for whole-body
exposure, and it is used internationally for setting exposure
limits and for guiding quantitatively the practical implemen-
tation of the optimization principle for the control of radia-
tion induced stochastic effects.
The effective dose to the whole body is defined as
E = ∑wT ∑wR DT,R .
T R (1)
The mean absorbed doses DT, R of specified tissues and
organs T in a human body are each is weighted by radiation
weighting factors, wR for all incident radiation types R. This
term is called the equivalent dose to tissue or organ T.
Effective dose, E, is the weighted average of the equivalent
doses, using tissue weighting factors to take account of the
relative contributions of the organs and tissues to total sto-
chastic detriment (i.e., all wT < 1 and ∑wT = 1).
Effective dose due to exposure to external radiation is
linked to quantities characterizing the radiation field, usually
particle fluence or, for photons, kerma in air. Conversion
coefficients h linking the field quantities to effective dose
have been calculated by numerically evaluating equation (1)
in mathematical anthropomorphic reference phantoms
(ICRP, 2009) for eight standard geometrical orientations of
the incoming radiation field (ICRP, 2010).
The protection quantity effective dose is not defined at a
single point but as an average over organs and over the entire
body. Therefore, it is not amenable to direct measurement.
The International Commission on Radiation Units and
Measurements (ICRU) has defined a set of operational (mea-
surable) quantities based on dose equivalent [ICRU Report
39(1985), ICRU Report 51(1993)], as estimator of effective
dose for exposure to external radiations, complementing the
Journal of the ICRU
2020, Vol. 20(1) 14­–16
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set of protection quantities. Dose equivalent is defined as the
product of an absorbed dose and a quality factor
∞
H = ∫−∞ Q ( L ) DL ( d ) dL. (2)
Absorbed dose, D, is evaluated at a point in a specified
depth d in the body or in a phantom. For whole-body moni-
toring d has been chosen to be 10 mm. The quality factor Q
is a function of the linear energy transfer (LET or L∞) of the
particles at the interaction point (ICRU, 1993).
The ICRU Report 39/51 system of operational quantities
distinguishes between quantities for radiation monitoring of
individuals (personal dose equivalent) and of areas (direc-
tional and ambient dose equivalent). While personal dose
equivalent Hp(d) is defined at d mm (usually 10 mm) under
the “representative location on the body,” directional and
ambient dose equivalent H′(d) are defined at the specified
depth in the ICRU sphere made of ICRU 4-component tissue
and with a 30 cm diameter (ICRU, 1993). Ambient dose
equivalent is made independent from the direction of inci-
dent radiation by virtually expanding and aligning all field
vectors.
Protection quantities and operational quantities differ in
their definitions and in the phantoms employed to calculate
the respective coefficients from radiation field quantities:
1. Calculation of conversion coefficients for both, effec-
tive dose and the operational quantities, were and are
carried out using phantoms and radiation transport
codes. For equivalent dose to organs and tissues and
thus for effective dose anthropomorphic phantoms
were used, more recently the ICRP/ICRU reference
adult phantoms (ICRP, 2010). For the calculation of
conversion coefficients for operational quantities
(used for calibrations of radiation protection moni-
tors) geometrically more simple phantoms were
used: the ICRU sphere for ambient dose equivalent
and a slab phantom (with dimensions 300 mm ×
300 mm × 150 mm) for personal dose equivalent.
The corresponding geometrical and structural differ-
ences sets limits to the quality of the estimates of val-
ues for effective dose from measurements of the
operational quantities. The ICRU sphere has barely a
resemblance to the anthropomorphic phantom and its
Executive Summary 15
anatomical structure used in the calculation of effec-
tive dose.
2. The evaluation of personal and ambient dose equiva-
lent at a single, defined depth d does not reflect the
geometrical anatomical complexity of the human
body and the calculation of conversion coefficients
for E in anthropomorphic reference phantoms as a
weighted average of equivalent doses to specified
body organs and tissues.
3. The quality factor Q(L), used in the calculation of
dose equivalent as well as the radiation weighting
factor, wR, used for equivalent and effective dose is
used to account for differences in the effectiveness of
different radiation type. However, they are based on
different approaches and are not fully equivalent.
4. Hitherto published and widely applied conversion
coefficients for the operational quantities of photons
have been calculated in the kerma approximation.
This simplified approach results in an overestimate
of the protection quantities by the operational quanti-
ties at high photon energies.
The differences in (1) and (2) are the main reasons for
inadequate estimates of effective dose by measured values of
operational quantities for certain particles and energies.
More generally, they are the main reason for the differences
between the conversion coefficients for effective dose and
those for operational quantities.
This Report introduces an alternative definition of the
operational quantities for external radiation which overcomes
deficiencies with regard to their intended use as estimators for
effective dose. In this Report, operational quantities are
defined as the product of particle fluence and a conversion
coefficient (Endo, 2016). Symbolically this is written as:
H = Φ ⋅ hΦ . (3)
The conversion coefficient for effective dose is calculated
as the quotient of the value of the effective dose evaluated in
the ICRP/ICRU adult reference phantoms (ICRP, 2009) for
specified directions of incidence divided by the particle flu-
ence in the absence of the phantom, and the symbol for the
conversion coefficient is written as:
hE = E / Φ . (4)
Definitions (3) and (4) provide a good numerical coherence
between the values of the conversion coefficients for effec-
tive dose and the corresponding values for the operational
quantities. This is mainly due to the fact that the phantom for
the calculation of protection and operational quantities is
now identical
The quantity for monitoring whole-body exposure of
individual workers, named personal dose Hp, is the product
of the particle fluence, Φ, and an energy- and angle-depen-
dent conversion coefficient, hp,(Ep,Ω). The conversion coef-
ficients are calculated within the same anthropomorphic
phantom as the protection quantity effective dose E.
Conversion coefficients are given for various angles of inci-
dence on the body surface to allow assessing the angle
dependence of personal dosimeters. Obviously, the values of
Hp (Ep,0o) are numerically equal to E (AP) for the same par-
ticle energies.
The quantity for assessing potential effective doses in a
given area (predominantly prospectively) is named ambient
dose H*, and is defined at all energies of the particles consid-
ered as the maximum of the values of effective dose for the
different directions of an incident radiation field on an
anthropomorphic phantom as published in ICRP Publication
116 (2010). The selection of the maximum value for the dif-
ferent directions of incidence ensures that the quantity ambi-
ent dose provides close but always conservative estimates of
effective dose.
Radiation protection is not only concerned with control of
stochastic effects but also with the control of more determinis-
tic tissue effects, in particular to the lens of the eye and to local
skin. For each specific exposure limits have been set in terms
of equivalent dose. In practice, also for monitoring the expo-
sure of the lens of the eye and local skin, operational quantities
are in use. For the personal monitoring of the lens of the eye,
the operational quantity personal dose equivalent Hp(3) is used
and for local skin it is the personal dose equivalent HP(0.07).
Concerning these operational quantities for the control of
tissue effects for lens of the eye and local skin, it is proposed
in this Report that quantities based on absorbed dose rather
than equivalent dose are more appropriate for the control of
the nonstochastic effects concerned. The operational quan-
tity personal absorbed dose to the lens of the eye is defined
in the numerical phantom of the eye similar to previous cal-
culations of conversion coefficients for equivalent dose of
the eye. The definition of the quantity personal absorbed
dose in local skin is based on simplified mathematical phan-
toms of trunk, arm, and finger. They are used for defining the
quantity and serve also as an unambiguous calculation pre-
scription for the conversion coefficients.
The Report provides a comprehensive set of values of
conversion coefficients for the proposed quantities H* and
Hp, for photons, electrons, positrons, neutrons, alpha parti-
cles, positive and negative muons, and positive and negative
pions. The energy range of the data published in this Report
corresponds to the energy ranges used in ICRP Publication
116, for conversion coefficients for effective dose they
extend up to 10 GeV.
The proposed definition of the operational quantities for
the control of stochastic effects results in changes of the energy
dependence of the conversion coefficients. Therefore, cali-
bration coefficients of dosimeters will have to be reexamined.
For example, personal dosimeters and survey instruments
16 Journal of the ICRU 20(1)
calibrated to the ICRU 39/51 operational quantities for photons
will show too high a response below an energy of 70 keV. In
the most common energy range from 50 keV to 3 MeV, a
straightforward recalibration will be sufficient.
This Report represents a major change in the definition of
operational quantities in radiation protection against external
radiation. The result is a simplification of system of quanti-
ties used in operational radiation protection, by aligning the
definition of protection quantities and operational quantities
and eliminating intermediate steps which are complex and
potentially confusing.
The comprehensive set of conversion coefficients
included as annexes of the Report cover a large energy range
and will give a solid base for future instrument design and
calibration and enable prospective calculations of radiation
fields. It will also help harmonizing radiation protection
monitoring of types of ionizing radiation which were not
included in previous publications.