Safety and Radiation Protection Culture

At a time of significant developments in the use of ionizing radiation in medicine and power generation, the radiation protection profession is facing the challenge of enhancing safety culture throughout the world. As the voice of radiation protection professionals, the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) has initiated a process for promoting safety culture. This paper presents general theories of organizational culture and arguments coming from three IRPA workshops organized in Europe, Asia and the United States. We present an outline of how these theories correspond to specific values and beliefs underlying a safety culture. We posit that there is no difference in the basis of a radiation protection culture among radiation-using sectors (medicine, power generation, industry). Radiation protection focuses on people and behavior (culture) to prevent harm to individuals when radiation or radioactivity is being used; radiation safety focuses on system design to allow the use of hazardous equipment or materials without harming individuals and the environment. A radiation protection culture is an underlying requirement to successful implementation of radiation safety.