European Committee on Radiation Risk
Encyclopedia
The European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) is an informal committee formed in 1997 following a meeting by the European Green Party
at the European Parliament
to review the Council of Europe
's directive 96/29Euratom, issued in May of the previous year.
The EU legislators had found it convenient to incorporate the findings of the International Commission on Radiological Protection
(ICRP) model for assessing radiation risk from internal emitters, but the ECRR challenged this and suggested that the model underestimates the risks. The ECRR have proposed a method of re-weighting the risk factors to take into account the biophysical properties
of the particular isotopes involved.
-published document: a review by Professor Rudi H. Nussbaum from Portland State University
which challenges the accepted view of the long-term health consequences from the incident. Shortly after the 2003 Recommendations was published the United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency
issued a response, in which they describe the ECRR as "...a self-styled organisation with no formal links to official bodies" and criticize its findings as "arbitrary and [without] a sound scientific basis. Furthermore, there are many misrepresentations of [the] ICRP".
was the first Chair of the ECRR. The Chair of the Scientific Committee is Professor Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake
. Christopher Busby
is Scientific Secretary.
European Green Party
The European Green Party is the Green political party at European level. As such it is a federation of green parties in Europe.-History:...
at the European Parliament
European Parliament
The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...
to review the Council of Europe
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...
's directive 96/29Euratom, issued in May of the previous year.
First meeting
The Council of Europe directive was a wide-ranging ruling regarding the use and transport of natural and artificial radioactive materials within the European Union, but the inaugural ECRR meeting concentrated on the proposal of Article 4.1.c: "...radioactive substances in the production and manufacture of consumer goods...".The EU legislators had found it convenient to incorporate the findings of the International Commission on Radiological Protection
International Commission on Radiological Protection
The International Commission on Radiological Protection is an advisory body providing recommendations and guidance on radiation protection; It was founded in 1928 by the International Society of Radiology and was then called the ‘International X-ray and Radium Protection Committee’...
(ICRP) model for assessing radiation risk from internal emitters, but the ECRR challenged this and suggested that the model underestimates the risks. The ECRR have proposed a method of re-weighting the risk factors to take into account the biophysical properties
Biophysics
Biophysics is an interdisciplinary science that uses the methods of physical science to study biological systems. Studies included under the branches of biophysics span all levels of biological organization, from the molecular scale to whole organisms and ecosystems...
of the particular isotopes involved.
Responses
The Committee has published two works, the ECRR 2003 Recommendations of the European Committee on Radiation Risk: Health Effects of Ionising Radiation Exposure at Low Doses for Radiation Protection Purposes. Regulators' Edition; and ECRR Chernobyl 20 Years On: the Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident. Chernobyl 20 Years On is cited in one PubmedPubMed
PubMed is a free database accessing primarily the MEDLINE database of references and abstracts on life sciences and biomedical topics. The United States National Library of Medicine at the National Institutes of Health maintains the database as part of the Entrez information retrieval system...
-published document: a review by Professor Rudi H. Nussbaum from Portland State University
Portland State University
Portland State University is a public state urban university located in downtown Portland, Oregon, United States. Founded in 1946, it has the largest overall enrollment of any university in the state of Oregon, including undergraduate and graduate students. It is also the only public university in...
which challenges the accepted view of the long-term health consequences from the incident. Shortly after the 2003 Recommendations was published the United Kingdom's Health Protection Agency
Health Protection Agency
The Health Protection Agency, or, in Welsh, Yr Asiantaeth Diogelu Iechyd is a statutory corporation. It is an independent UK organisation that was set up by the government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and environmental hazards...
issued a response, in which they describe the ECRR as "...a self-styled organisation with no formal links to official bodies" and criticize its findings as "arbitrary and [without] a sound scientific basis. Furthermore, there are many misrepresentations of [the] ICRP".
Membership
Alice StewartAlice Stewart
Dr Alice Mary Stewart was a physician and epidemiologist specialising in social medicine and the effects of radiation on health...
was the first Chair of the ECRR. The Chair of the Scientific Committee is Professor Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake
Inge Schmitz-Feuerhake
Born in Osnabrück, Germany on September 28, 1935, Inge Schmitz-Feuerhakes research has assessed the biological effects of ionizing radiation at low dosage levels. From 1973 and until her retirement in 2000 she was a professor in experimental physics at the University of Bremen...
. Christopher Busby
Christopher Busby
Christopher Busby is a British scientist known for his controversial theories about the negative health effects of very low-dose ionising radiation....
is Scientific Secretary.