ABSTRACT
In Chapter 2 it was claimed that a firm foundation for the European Community’s environmental legislation dates from the Single European Act of 1987. However, in regard to radiological protection, UK policy has been subordinate to European obligations since accession to the Euratom Treaty (along with the other, better known Treaty of Rome) in 1973. In fact, the effects of ionising radiation from man-made sources (especially nuclear installations and radioactive waste) constitutes a specialised area of environmental management wherein UK freedom of action has been circumscribed by supranational obligations since 1957, when the United Nations set up its International Atomic Energy Agency. Throughout this period, policy has been based upon ‘recommendations’1 prepared and published by the International Commission on Radiological Protection-a body of recognised experts in the fields of radiation biology, dosimetry, medicine, etc. It is difficult to cite another area of environmental management which is subject to a comparable degree of regulation or possesses as full a complement of treaties, statutes, regulations, advisory bodies and enforcement agencies.
