HPS and AAHP Endorse IRPA Guiding Principles for Stakeholder Engagement

On May 25th, IRPA President Kenneth Kase received the following joint communication from the U.S. Health Physics Society and the American Academy of Health Physics

On the IRPA Guiding Principles for Radiation Protection Professionals on Stakeholder Engagement

In 2008, the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) at its Congress in Buenos Aires, adopted IRPA Guiding Principles for Radiation Protection Professionals on Stakeholder Engagement.

These Guiding Principles are intended to aid members of IRPA Associate Societies in promoting the participation of all relevant parties in the process of reaching decisions involving radiological protection which may impact on the well being and quality of life of workers and members of the public, and on the environment. In promoting this approach, radiological protection professionals will aim to develop trust and credibility throughout the decision making process in order to improve the sustainability of any final decisions.

The Health Physics Society’s (HPS) Board of Directors at its meeting on January 24, 2010, in Albuquerque adopted a position statement outlining the Guiding Principles and endorsing their use by health physicists in the U.S.  This position statement may be found at http://hps.org/documents/stakeholder_engagement_ps024-0.pdf. In turn, the executive committee of American Academy of Health Physics:

• endorsed  the HPS Position Statement,
• encouraged the American Board of Health Physics to incorporate the Guiding Principles in the subjects suitable for including in its certification exam, and
• directed the Academy president to write an article for HPS News encouraging all HPS to advise their employers to use the Guiding Principles in decision-making actions as appropriate. That article appeared in the May issue of HPS News.

The major organizations of radiation protection professionals in the U.S commend IRPA for developing and publishing the Guiding Principles.  They encourage other Associate Societies to enthusiastically and visibly advocate using the Guiding Principles to help decision-making agencies everywhere “develop trust and credibility throughout the decision-making process in order to improve the sustainability of any final decisions”- a worthwhile goal throughout the world.