NEA Director-General William D. Magwood, IV and CRPPH Chair, Thierry Schneider of the Nuclear Protection Evaluation Centre (CEPN), with delegates at the 83rd CRPPH meeting at the NEA premises in France.
The NEA Committee on Radiological Protection and Public Health (CRPPH) held its annual meeting on 26 to 28 March 2025 at the NEA premises in Boulogne-Billancourt, France. The hybrid meeting brought together around 70 delegates from 22 NEA member countries, 8 international organisations and associations, and invitees from the People’s Republic of China and Ukraine.
The meeting focused on latest achievements, the refinement of the current programme of work and the prioritisation of activities for 2025-2026. Highlights of the last year included a workshop on low-dose research co-ordination hosted by the NEA High-Level Group on Low-Dose Research (HLG-LDR), in collaboration with the International Dose Effect Alliance (IDEA) of the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI), at NEA headquarters on 25 to 26 June 2024.
Significant progress was made during the 49th Working Party on Nuclear Emergency Matters (WPNEM-49) plenary meeting in London on 15 to 17 October 2024. The meeting included a Sixth International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (INEX-6) topical session on the long-term recovery phase following 26 countries finalising their INEX-6 exercises in March to April 2024. Six CRPPH working group mandates were finalised or extended and a new Task Group on Radiological Protection during Armed Conflict (TGRPAC) commenced and will operate in line with the OECD Ukraine Country Programme which is a four-year initiative aimed at strengthening institutions and capacity building to implement effective policy reforms across different sectors in Ukraine.
Two expert groups were also launched in 2025. The Expert Group on Emergency Preparedness for Small Modular Reactors (EGEPSMR) was established under the WPNEM to explore how a graded approach can be applied to emergency planning, ensuring that protection strategies are appropriately tailored to the unique characteristics and deployment scenarios of small modular reactors. The Expert Group on Radiological Protection of the Environment (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.
Five publications have been issued since the last CRPPH meeting in the fields of mental health and psychosocial support, dose prognosis, real-time platforms for emergency preparedness and response, radiological protection during armed conflict, and optimisation in decision making.
NEA delegates discussing notable topics including the radiological protection situation in Ukraine and the work of the newly formed Task Group on Radiological Protection during Armed Conflict (TGRPAC).
Topical sessions in the plenary meeting notably included radiological protection during armed conflict and feedback from the International Radiological Protection School (IRPS) at Stockholm University and Risk Communication Training Course (RCTC). Kateryna Chepil, from the State Nuclear Regulatory Inspectorate of Ukraine (SNRIU), provided an insightful update on the current situation in Ukraine, focusing on developments related to radiological protection. Particular attention was given to the medical sector, including control of radioactive medical isotopes, as well as licensing and maintenance of x-ray accelerators and other equipment used for diagnosis and treatment. It highlighted several challenges and the ongoing efforts by the regulatory body to address them.
Day 1 and 2 included two breakout group discussion sessions on the programme of work of the Expert Group on International Recommendations (EGIR) and the four modules from INEX-6, respectively. Participants provided their expert views and priorities to shape a forward-looking programme of work, strengthening collaboration in radiological protection to pragmatically address key international challenges.
Delegates attended two breakout group discussion sessions focused on the Programme of Work of the EGIR and INEX-6.
Several productive discussions took place over the three days with many agreements and decisions. Notably, CRPPH meeting participants agreed to disseminate the Global Register of Low-Dose Research Projects to their networks and to encourage researchers to upload information. In response to the INEX-6 plenary discussions and breakout sessions, the identified INEX-6 feedback and priorities will be evaluated at an Expert Group on the Sixth International Nuclear Emergency Exercise (EGINEX6) workshop. Following the plenary and breakout sessions to refine the EGIR programme of work and its prioritisation, the extension of EGIR for an additional two-year period was approved and its mandate will be revised. Additionally, a discussion at the next Inter-Agency Committee on Radiation Safety (IACRS) meeting will be raised concerning international radiological protection support in armed conflict situations and ways to co-ordinate efforts.
The CRPPH will gather for its next annual meeting in April 2026, once again in person at the NEA premises.
