International Radiation Protection Association

The International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) is an independent non-profit association of national and regional radiation protection societies, and its mission is to advance radiation protection throughout the world. It is the international professional association for radiation protection.

IRPA is recognized by the IAEA as a Non Governmental Organization (NGO) and is an observer on the IAEA Radiation Safety Standards Committee (RASSC).

IRPA was formed on June 19, 1965, at a meeting in Los Angeles; stimulated by the desire of radiation protection professionals to have a world-wide body. Membership includes 50 Associate Societies covering 65 countries, totaling approximately 18,000 individual members.



Structure
The General Assembly, made up of representatives from the Associate Societies, is the representative body of the Association. It delegates authority to the Executive Council for the efficient administration of the affairs of the Association.

Specific duties are carried out by IRPA Commissions, Committees, Task Groups and Working Groups:
 * Commission on Publications
 * Societies Admission and Development Committee
 * International Congress Organising Committee
 * International Congress Programme Committee
 * Montreal Fund Committee
 * Radiation Protection Strategy and Practice Committee
 * Regional Congresses Co-ordinating Committee
 * Rules Committee
 * Sievert Award Committee
 * Task Group on Security of Radioactive Sources
 * Task Group on Public Understanding of Radiation Risk
 * Working Group on Radiation Protection Certification and Qualification

Associate societies
The following is a list of the 50 Associate Societies (covering 65 countries):

List of International Congresses
The 2032 Congress (IRPA18) will be in Australia.

The 2028 Congress (IRPA17) will be in Spain.

Past Congresses
IRPA 16 Orlando, July 2024

IRPA 15 Seoul, January 2021

IRPA 14 Cape Town, May 2016

IRPA 13 Glasgow, May 2012

IRPA 12 Buenos Aires, October 2008

IRPA 11 Madrid, May 2004

IRPA 10 Hiroshima, May 2000

IRPA 9 Vienna, April 1996

IRPA 8 Montreal, May 1992

IRPA 7 Sydney, April 1988

IRPA 6 Berlin, May 1984

IRPA 5 Jerusalem, March 1980

IRPA 4 Paris, April 1977

IRPA 3 Washington, September 1973

IRPA 2 Brighton, May 1970

IRPA 1 Rome, September 1966

International Cooperation
IRPA maintains relations with many other international organizations in the field of radiation protection, such as those listed here.

Rolf M. Sievert Award
Commencing with the 1973 IRPA Congress, each International Congress has been opened by the Sievert Lecture which is presented by the winner of the Sievert Award. This award is in honour of Rolf M. Sievert, a pioneer in radiation physics and radiation protection.

The Sievert Award consists of a suitable scroll, certificate or parchment, containing the name of the recipient, the date it is presented, and an indication that the award honours the memory of Professor Rolf M. Sievert.

The recipients of the Sievert Award are listed below:


 * 1973 Prof. Bo Lindell (Sweden), Radiation and Man Health Physics 31 (September), pp 265–272, 1976
 * 1977 Prof. W.V. Mayneord (United Kingdom),	 The Time Factor in Carcinogenesis Health Physics 34 (April), pp 297–309, 1978
 * 1980 Lauriston S. Taylor (USA), Some Nonscientific Influences on Radiation Protection Standards and Practice Health Physics 39 (December), pp 851–874, 1980
 * 1984 Sir Edward Pochin (United Kingdom),	 Sieverts and Safety Health Physics 46(6), pp 1173–1179, 1984
 * 1988 Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Jacobi (Germany),	 Environmental Radioactivity and Man Health Physics 55(6), pp 845–853, 1988
 * 1992 Dr. Giovanni Silini (Italy),	 Ethical Issues in Radiation Protection Health Physics 63(2), pp 139–148, 1992
 * 1996 Dr. Daniel Beninson (Argentina),	 Risk of Radiation at Low Doses Health Physics 71(2), pp 122–125, 1996
 * 2000 Prof. Dr. Itsuzo Shigematsu (Japan),	 Lessons from Atomic Bomb Survivors in Hiroshima and Nagasaki Health Physics 78(3), pp 234–241, 2000
 * 2004 Dr. Abel J. Gonzalez (Argentina), Protecting Life against the Detrimental Effects Attributable to Radiation Exposure: Towards a Globally Harmonized Radiation Protection Regime Paper prepared for IRPA
 * 2008 Prof. Christian Streffer (Germany),	 Radiological Protection: Challenges and Fascination of Biological Research Stralenschutz Praxis 2009/2, pp 35–45, 2009
 * 2012 Dr. Richard Osborne (Canada),	 A Story of T Lightly edited transcript of Dr. Osborne's lecture
 * 2016 Dr. John Boice (USA),	 How to Protect the Public When you Can't Measure the Risk - The Role of Radiation Epidemiology
 * 2020 Prof. Dr. Eliseo Vañó (Spain)