Science and Values in Radiological Protection

The second workshop of the CRPPH on radiological protection and public health


Vaulx de Cernay
, France

30 November - 2 December 2009

 

Programme - Day 1 (30 November 2009)

Opening (09:00 - 09:30)

Chair: Shizuyo Kusumi, Nuclear Safety Commission, Japan

Welcome Address from IRSN Jacques Repussard
Welcome Address from CEPN Thierry Schneider
Welcome Address from NEA Uichiro Yoshimura


Introduction (09:30 - 10:30)

Chair: Shizuyo Kusumi, Nuclear Safety Commission, Japan

This talk should make the link with the Science and Values in Radiological Protection workshop in Helsinki, and lay out the overall goals of the present workshop. It should explain the format of plenary/break-out sessions.

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This talk should give more detail on the choice of the three case topics and the linkage to public health concerns in radiological protection. It should make a specific link with Helsinki workshop findings and the CRPPH Expert Group on the Public Health Perspective in Radiological Protection work.

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  • Civil Society Needs (10:10-10:30)                                                                 
    Britt-Marie Drottz Sjöberg Norwegian University of Science and Technology, Norway

This talk should briefly review the radiation protection concerns and communication needs of civil society. It will point out different categories of stakeholders and their understanding of radiation risks implied by the three case topics. It will address the question of how radiological protection professionals can better identify and respond to civil society concerns.

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Coffee break (10:30-11:00)


Session 1: Setting the scene (11:00 - 15:30)

Chair: Michel Bourguignon, Autorité de Sûreté Nucléaire (ASN), France

Holistic presentations of science, values, regulation and public health policy, NGO viewpoints… An informed view of “where we stand” on each case topic following the Helsinki workshop.

  • Radon as a public health issue (11:00-12:00; 45 min + 15 discussion) 
    Margot Tirmarche
    Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire (IRSN), France and ICRP Committee 1

Lunch (13:00-14:30)


  • Radiation-induced vascular effects (14:30-15:30; 45 min + 15 discussion)        
    Mike Atkinson
    , Institute of Radiation Biology, Helmholtz Zentrum Munich, Germany

Coffee break (15:30-16:00)


Break-out sessions 1st part - Issues surrounding current approaches (16:00 – 18:00)
This session will deepen the discussion and widen the process begun at Helsinki, regarding the new data, phenomena and observations that stimulate us to ask whether current public health and regulatory approaches in each topical area are still adequate, or whether they may need revision. The focus of this session is thus on scientific aspects which may induce a need for paradigm change.
See possible questions for break-out sessions

  • Radon as a public health issue                                                          
    Moderator: Christophe Murith, Federal Office of Public Health, Switzerland
    Facilitator: Kathleen G. Grant, RESOLVE, USA
  • Medical exposures in diagnostic and screening procedures  
    Moderator: Catherine LuccioniConservatoire National des Arts et Metiers (CNAM), France
    Facilitator: Claire Mays, NEA, France
  • Radiation-induced vascular effects                                              
    Moderators: Sisko Salomaa, STUK, Finland and Neale G. Kelly, UK
    Facilitator: Deborah Oughton, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway

Break (18:00-18:30)


Evening session 1: Stakeholder platform opportunity (18:30-20:00)

Chair: Ola Holmberg, IAEA, Austria

One of the workshop objectives is to foster dialogue between radiological protection professionals, researchers, regulators… and other stakeholders from interested publics in order to deepen discussion on points of interest. In order to maximize stakeholders’ benefit in attending the workshop, a platform for communicating and discussing relevant stakeholder views and concerns is offered in this evening context. The on-topic interventions are intended to cover relevant subjects that may not be directly addressed during the rest of the workshop (e.g., risk communication, etc.). It is intended that these discussions will take place in a relaxed and informal atmosphere

This evening session will focus on aspects of dose regulations in radiodiagnostic and radiotherapeutic fields, ALARA in medicine and other issues related to medical exposures. Discussion is intended to be linked to introductory talk in Session 1 on Public Health Perspective in Radiological Protection in Challenging Topical Areas.

(Kazuko Ohno, Kyoto Medical College of Science)


Dinner (20:00-)


 

Programme - Day 2 (1 December 2009)

Break-out sessions 2nd part – Values underlying favored approaches (9:00 – 12:00)

Across countries or across stakeholders, we can observe that a single problem yields different solutions. What are the views, preferences and value judgments that are reflected in those solutions? This session will help understand the alternatives favored by different actors, by identifying the factors each actor is weighting. The focus of the session is on extra-scientific aspects (e.g. economic concerns; societal values…) that influence the choices made in each context, and which potentially could be sources of friction among different societal actors or stakeholders.
See possible questions for break-out sessions

  • Radon as a public health issue
    Moderator: Ferid Shannoun WHO, Switzerland
    Facilitator: Kathleen G. Grant RESOLVE, USA
  • Medical exposures in diagnostic and screening procedures
    Moderator: John Cooper Health Protection Agency, UK
    Facilitator: Claire Mays NEA, France
  • Radiation-induced vascular effects
    Moderator: Wolfgang Weiss Bundesamt für Strahlenschutz, Germany
    Facilitator: Deborah Oughton, Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Norway

Coffee break (10:30-11:00)

Lunch (12:00-13:30)


Session 2:
Societal values and regulatory aspects: views from different perspective
(13:30-15:00)

Chair: Simon Carroll, Swedish Biodiversity Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences and Uppsala University, Sweden

Parallel rapporteurs meeting (13:30-15:00) (to prepare/harmonize Summary presentations of Break-out sessions)

Session 3:
Summary reports of Break-out sessions
(15:00-18:30)                       

Chair: Kazuo Sakai, National Institute of Radiological Science, Japan


Coffee Break (16:00 – 16:30)



Break (18:30-19:00)


Evening session 2: Stakeholder platform opportunity (19:00-20:30)                                 

Chair: Simon Carroll, Swedish Biodiversity Centre, University of Agricultural Sciences and Uppsala University, Sweden

Continuing discussions started during the Evening session 1 with focus on different aspects of NGO and society perceptions of the radiological protection regulatory framework, ways of communicating about novel scientific phenomena, and differing perceptions about the need for and effectiveness of regulatory actions, etc. Discussion is intended to be linked to introductory talk in Session 1 on Civil Society Needs.

(Abel Gonzales, Argentina)


Dinner (20:30-)


 

Programme - Day 3 (2 December 2009)

Session 4:            
Plenary panel discussion on topical issues from Break-out sessions - exchange of views
(9:00-12:00)           

Chair and moderator: Claire Cousins, Addenbrooke’s Hospital, UK and Chair of ICRP Main Commission

This session, arranged as a plenary panel discussion, will synthesize the main recommendations of the workshop and also provide an open platform for exchange of views. Audience members will be given the opportunity here to discuss openly radiation protection principles, regulatory approaches and perspectives in the context of emerging and identified scientific phenomena.

Panelists
: moderators, speakers of Introduction and Sessions 1, 2 (moderators and selected speakers)


Coffee Break (10:30 – 11:00)


Closing of the workshop (12:00-12:30)
Uichiro Yoshimura (NEA)