Ethical aspects of radiological protection

Virtue ethics

 

It is well known that early applications of radiation resulted in severe injuries to the exposed personnel. Examples are: Use of X-rays and use of radium compounds for painting the watch dials. Such effects are now known as deterministic effects of radiation exposure. For radiological protection, under such situations, the control was to reduce the dose levels to the individuals to prevent such deterministic effects. Virtue ethics is concerned with the actions for complete well-being of a person, and a person-based decision to act and provide guidance to prevent severe health effects in all such radiation exposure situations.  

 

Utilitarian approach to ethics

 

In this approach, the consequences of a given radiation exposure is assessed. Action which produces the maximum benefits over harms for everyone affected or exposed is accepted as the morally right course of action. All the available options and the general balance of short-term and long-term benefit over the harm to all persons are considered. This is the justification process based on cost-benefit analysis. Dose limits, based on stochastic considerations provide the upper-bounds for optimization.

 

Duty-based or Deontological ethics

Duty-based (Deontological) ethics are concerned with what people do and not with the consequences of their actions. People have a duty to do the right thing or take right decision even if it produces consequences which may not be acceptable to all.  The Duty-based ethical systems expects due regard to be given to even to small group of persons even if the actions are at odds with the interests of a larger group. Dose constraints/risk constraints are considered for optimization of protection.

The current recommendations of the ICRP emphasize more duty-based ethics, giving more importance to the control of individual doses than to the collective dose and cost-benefit analysis. Exposure to individuals is controlled by the use of dose/risk constraints on multiple sources of exposure.   

New ICRP Publication: Protection of the Environment under Different Exposure Situations, ICRP Publication 124, Ann. ICRP 43(1), 2014

R.J. Pentreath, J. Lochard, C-M. Larsson, D.A. Cool, P. Strand, J. Simmonds, D. Copplestone, D. Oughton, E. Lazo

 

In this report, the ICRP describes the framework for protection of the environment and how it should be applied within the Commission’s system of protection. The report relates to the protection of animals and plants (biota) in their natural environment, and how these can be met by the use of Reference Animals and Plants (RAPs); their Derived Consideration Reference Levels (DCRLs), which relate radiation effects to doses over and above their normal local background natural radiation levels; and different potential pathways of exposure.

 

The report explains the different types of exposure situations to which its recommendations apply; the key principles that are relevant to protection of the environment; and hence how reference values based on the use of DCRLs can be used to inform on the appropriate level of effort relevant to different exposure situations. Further recommendations are made with regard to how the Commission’s recommendations can be implemented to satisfy different forms of environmental protection objectives, which may require the use of representative organisms specific to a site, and how these may be compared with the reference values. Issues that may arise in relation to compliance are also discussed, and the final chapter discusses the overall implications of the Commission’s work in this area to date. Appendices A and B provide some numerical information relating to the RAPs. Annex C considers various existing types of environmental protection legislation currently in place in relation to large industrial sites and practices, and the various ways in which wildlife are protected from various threats arising from such sites (Source: www.icrp.org).