Global practice
WHO & European standards
The World Health Organization frameworks and European radiation protection standards that parallel the US standards used throughout this app — same science, different regulators, different numbers. Study them side by side without changing what you already know.
Every international framework here rests on the ICRP pillars of justification, optimization, and dose limitation — the same principles behind US ALARA and NRC regulation. What changes across the Atlantic is who enforces the rules and the exact dose limits: the EU sets a 20 mSv/yr occupational limit and a 20 mSv/yr lens limit, and calibrates linacs with IAEA TRS-398 instead of AAPM TG-51.
US vs WHO / European — at a glance
Existing US standards stay unchanged; this is the international equivalent of each
Both systems are built on the same ICRP principles of justification, optimization, and dose limitation — the numbers and the organizations that enforce them differ.
A global effort to cut unnecessary medical radiation doses and strengthen protection of patients and workers.
WHO launched the Global Initiative on Radiation Safety in Health Care Settings to mobilize the health sector toward safe and effective use of radiation in medicine, folding radiation protection into good medical practice and health-care quality. It works with health authorities, regulators, professional societies, patient networks and UNSCEAR so that every imaging and radiotherapy procedure is justified and optimized — the same two pillars US practice applies through ALARA and prescription standards.
Key points
- Organized around three work areas: risk assessment, risk management, and risk communication
- Built on justification (is the exposure appropriate?) and optimization (is the dose as low as achievable for the purpose?)
- Promotes safety culture, incident reporting and learning systems across countries
- Directly parallels US ALARA practice — the international framing of the same principle