Society News Archive

The International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) has issued IRPA Guidance on Implementation of Eye Dose Monitoring and Eye Protection of Workers. This document was prepared by an IRPA task group assigned to identify key issues in the implementation of the revised eye dose limit recommended by the the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) in April 2011. The ICRP revised its eye dose threshold for cataract induction, identifying a limit of 0.5 Gy, compared with the previous threshold doses for visual-impairing cataracts of 5 Gy for acute exposures and greater than 8 Gy for highly fractionated ones.

The reduction of the limit for occupational exposure for the lens of the eye has significant implication in view of the application to planned exposure situations for the different areas of occupational exposure and needs adequate approaches for eye protection and eye dose monitoring.

This guidance provides practical recommendations about when and how eye lens dose should be monitored in the framework of the implementation of the new ICRP dose limit for the lens of the eye, as well as guidance on use of protective devices depending on the exposure levels.