C115 | |
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ILO Convention | |
Date of adoption | June 22, 1960 |
Date in force | June 17, 1962 |
Classification | Radiation, Toxic substances and Agents |
Subject | Occupational Safety and Health |
Previous | Fishermen's Articles of Agreement Convention, 1959 |
Next | Final Articles Revision Convention, 1961 |
Radiation Protection Convention, 1960 is an International Labour Organization Convention to restrict workers from exposure to ionising radiation and to prohibit persons under 16 engaging in work that causes such exposure. (Article 6)
It was established in 1960, with the preamble stating:
Having decided upon the adoption of certain proposals with regard to the protection of workers against ionising radiations,...
Article 2. This Convention applies to all activities involving exposure of workers to ionising radiation in the course of their work.
Article 5. Every effort shall be made to restrict the exposure of workers to ionising radiation to the lowest protectable level.
Article 12 imposes undergoing further medical examinations at appropriate intervals, and Article 13 imposes the employer shall take any necessary remedial action on the basis of the technical findings and the medical advice.
As of January 2023, the convention has been ratified by 50 states.
The Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, more commonly referred to as the Fourth Geneva Convention and abbreviated as GCIV, is one of the four treaties of the Geneva Conventions. It was adopted in August 1949, and came into force in October 1950. While the first three conventions dealt with combatants, the Fourth Geneva Convention was the first to deal with humanitarian protections for civilians in a war zone. There are currently 196 countries party to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, including this and the other three treaties.
Ionizing radiation, including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel up to 99% of the speed of light, and the electromagnetic waves are on the high-energy portion of the electromagnetic spectrum.
Medical physics deals with the application of the concepts and methods of physics to the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of human diseases with a specific goal of improving human health and well-being. Since 2008, medical physics has been included as a health profession according to International Standard Classification of Occupation of the International Labour Organization.
Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Exposure can be from a source of radiation external to the human body or due to internal irradiation caused by the ingestion of radioactive contamination.
Health physics, also referred to as the science of radiation protection, is the profession devoted to protecting people and their environment from potential radiation hazards, while making it possible to enjoy the beneficial uses of radiation. Health physicists normally require a four-year bachelor’s degree and qualifying experience that demonstrates a professional knowledge of the theory and application of radiation protection principles and closely related sciences. Health physicists principally work at facilities where radionuclides or other sources of ionizing radiation are used or produced; these include research, industry, education, medical facilities, nuclear power, military, environmental protection, enforcement of government regulations, and decontamination and decommissioning—the combination of education and experience for health physicists depends on the specific field in which the health physicist is engaged.
Absorbed dose is a dose quantity which is the measure of the energy deposited in matter by ionizing radiation per unit mass. Absorbed dose is used in the calculation of dose uptake in living tissue in both radiation protection, and radiology. It is also used to directly compare the effect of radiation on inanimate matter such as in radiation hardening.
The Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention (1948) No 87 is an International Labour Organization Convention, and one of eight conventions that form the core of international labour law, as interpreted by the Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
The Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention (1949) No 98 is an International Labour Organization Convention. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions.
Medical Care and Sickness Benefits Convention, 1969 is an International Labour Organization Convention. It was established in 1969 revised Convention C24 Sickness Insurance (Industry) Convention, 1927 and Convention C25 Sickness Insurance (Agriculture) Convention, 1927.
Chemicals Convention, 1990 is an International Labour Organization Convention.
The Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR) are statutory instruments which form the main legal requirements for the use and control of ionising radiation in the United Kingdom. There have been several versions of the regulations, the current legislation was introduced in 2017 (IRR17), repealing the 1999 regulations and implementing the 2013/59/Euratom European Union directive.
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its recommendations form the basis of radiological protection policy, regulations, guidelines and practice worldwide.
The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was set up by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955. Twenty-one states are designated to provide scientists to serve as members of the committee which holds formal meetings (sessions) annually and submits a report to the General Assembly. The organisation has no power to set radiation standards nor to make recommendations in regard to nuclear testing. It was established solely to "define precisely the present exposure of the population of the world to ionizing radiation". A small secretariat, located in Vienna and functionally linked to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organizes the annual sessions and manages the preparation of documents for the committee's scrutiny.
Radiation monitoring involves the measurement of radiation dose or radionuclide contamination for reasons related to the assessment or control of exposure to radiation or radioactive substances, and the interpretation of the results.
The roentgen or röntgen is a legacy unit of measurement for the exposure of X-rays and gamma rays, and is defined as the electric charge freed by such radiation in a specified volume of air divided by the mass of that air . In 1928, it was adopted as the first international measurement quantity for ionizing radiation to be defined for radiation protection, as it was then the most easily replicated method of measuring air ionization by using ion chambers. It is named after the German physicist Wilhelm Röntgen, who discovered X-rays and was awarded the first Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery.
The Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) is a regulatory agency under the Commonwealth of Australia that aims to protect Australian citizens from both ionising and non-ionising radiation. ARPANSA works under the guidance of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act of 1998 as the national regulatory body of radiation in Australia, with independent departments within each state and territory that regulate radiation within each of their jurisdictions.
Effective dose is a dose quantity in the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) system of radiological protection.
Occupational hazards in dentistry are occupational hazards that are specifically associated with a dental care environment. Members of the dental team, including dentists, hygienists, dental nurses and radiographers, must ensure local protocols are followed to minimize risk.
The Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) is a British government environmental research site, run by Public Health England (PHE) in Chilton, Oxfordshire that monitors levels of toxic chemicals and background radiation in the British environment; it is largely a continuation of the former National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB).
Flight-time equivalent dose (FED) is an informal unit of measurement of ionizing radiation exposure. Expressed in units of flight-time, one unit of flight-time is approximately equivalent to the radiological dose received during the same unit of time spent in an airliner at cruising altitude. FED is intended as a general educational unit to enable a better understanding of radiological dose by converting dose typically presented in sieverts into units of time. FED is only meant as an educational exercise and is not a formally adopted dose measurement.