Human and environment are recognised as strongly interconnected as evidenced by several principles and goals for sustainable development agreed in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of the United Nations. The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) introduced a specific aim for the protection of the environment against the harmful effects of exposure to ionising radiation as part of the 2007 Recommendations of the ICRP, "preventing or reducing the frequency of deleterious radiation effects to a level where they would have negligible impact on the maintenance of biological diversity, the conservation of species or the health and status of natural habitats, communities and ecosystems". The ICRP’s environmental protection framework was subsequently defined in Publication 108 Environmental Protection - the Concept and Use of Reference Animals and Plants, with guidelines for its implementation in different exposure situations outlined in Publication 124 Protection of the Environment under Different Exposure Situations.

The NEA’s report, Initial Views on the Review and Revision of the System of Radiological Protection (NEA/CRPPH/R(2022)1), elaborated five main themes and several cross-cutting topics that the NEA’s Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) considers to be key issues to target in the ICRP’s review of the system of radiological protection. The NEA report discusses areas that could benefit from ongoing improvement, including environmental protection. The findings of the report were shared with ICRP and partner organisations. During discussion of the NEA report at the 81st meeting of the CRPPH, it was agreed to prioritise the integration of radiological protection of the environment into further in-depth review and incorporate it into the programme of work of the committee by establishing a new expert group on the subject.

The EGRPE is tasked with conducting a targeted review to assess how the current system of radiological protection has been applied in the context of environmental radiological protection across NEA member countries with the specific aim of identifying gaps, barriers, good practices and areas for improvement.