Radiation Protection: A Memoir of the National Radiological Protection Board

This book has the story of the NRPB as told by Mike O'Riordan, a former member of staff. A public body, the NRPB existed from 1970 until 2005, but the author traces the history of radiation protection in the UK back through earlier decades. He also places national developments in a broader international context.

Early chapters deal with the efforts to promote legislation for the NRPB after the reactor accident at Windscale, to blend its component parts into a coherent whole, and then to expand its capabilities and establish its credentials. Development was affected by UK accession to the European Communities, the creation of the Health and Safety Executive, and the extension of NRPB functions by the Government.

The ability of the NRPB to provide sound advice on the protection of people depended on the relevance of its research and the information flowing from its technical services.

Major research themes explored in successive chapters of the book include: problems of plutonium, internal dosimetry of radionuclides, radioactive discharges and disease, nuclear accidents and wastes, radon and medical X-rays, epidemiology, and molecular biology. An extensive chapter follows on non-ionising radiation dealing, among other matters, with the physics and biology of exposure to ultraviolet sources, electricity supplies, and mobile phones.

A later chapter has a description of the many technical services - physical, biological, and advisory - provided by the NRPB to a wide range of customers in the public and private sectors. It includes, as well, topics such as the transport of radioactive materials, exposure to cosmic rays, optimisation of protection, improvements in radiation instruments and methods, and training and education.

This is followed by a chapter on NRPB scientific and technical publications, on communications with the press and public, and on administrative matters. As a quango, the NRPB was exposed to changes in public finances and political agendas: the author examines the impact on the organisation.

The last chapter is about the merger of the NRPB in 2005 with the new Health Protection Agency and the prospects for radiation protection.

Radiation Protection: A Memoir of the National Radiological Protection Board is available from the Health Protection Agency, Chilton, price £30.00, ISBN 978 0 85951 586 3

Last reviewed: 21 December 2007