IDEAS - A New Approach to Internal Dose Assessment

1. International comparisons in internal dose assessment that were conducted during the 2000s have shown a wide range in doses that were obtained from the same data set and therefore the need for an increased harmonization in the assessment process. A new project – IDEAS – was initiated by the European Radiation Dosimetry (EURADOS) Group, to give guidance on internal dose assessments from monitoring data. The IDEAS published guidelines, which are based on the following three principles:

   Harmonization: any two assessors should obtain similar dose estimation from a given data set.
   Accuracy: given the available data, the best dose estimate should be obtained.
   Proportionality: the effort needed for dose evaluation should be proportional to the dose magnitude – the lower the dose, the simpler the process should be.
   According to these principles, the IDEAS Guidelines use a graded approach to dose evaluation:

   Level 0: Annual dose < 0.1 mSv – no dose evaluation.
   Level 1: Annual dose of 0.1-1 mSv – simple evaluation using ICRP default parameter values.
   Level 2: Annual dose of 1-6 mSv – sophisticated evaluation using additional data.
   Level 3: Annual dose > 6 mSv – more sophisticated evaluation using expert techniques.
   The EURADOS have initiated a new international comparison that will be held during 2008. In this intercomparison, the new IDEAS Guidelines are expected to be applied.

   Harmonization: any two assessors should obtain similar dose estimation from a given data set.
2. Accuracy: given the available data, the best dose estimate should be obtained.
3. Proportionality: the effort needed for dose evaluation should be proportional to the dose magnitude – the lower the dose, the simpler the process should be.

According to these principles, the IDEAS Guidelines use a graded approach to dose evaluation:

1. Level 0: Annual dose < 0.1 mSv – no dose evaluation.
2. Level 1: Annual dose of 0.1-1 mSv – simple evaluation using ICRP default parameter values.
3. Level 2: Annual dose of 1-6 mSv – sophisticated evaluation using additional data.
4. Level 3: Annual dose > 6 mSv – more sophisticated evaluation using expert techniques.

The EURADOS have initiated a new international comparison that will be held during 2008. In this intercomparison, the new IDEAS Guidelines are expected to be applied.