Wikipedia:Sandbox

ICNIRP was founded and chartered by the International Radiation Protection Association (IRPA) and is formally recognized by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the International Labour Office (ILO) as partners in the field of non-ionizing radiation. Although independent, ICNIRP maintains close relations to IRPA. Beside this scientific cooperation, all national radiation protection societies organised within IRPA may nominate candidates to ICNIRP membership.

ICNIRP’s main focus is to provide science-based advice to national authorities, and multinational authorities like the European Union, on the protection of the public and of workers from established adverse health effects that are caused by exposure to non-ionizing radiation.

To ensure transparency and independence, certain mechanisms were put in place at the time of ICNIRP’s inception, integrated in the ICNIRP charter and have been further developed since. A basic principle fixed in the ICNIRP charter is the independence of its members from vested interests. To enforce this rule, ICNIRP members have to declare their interests and any potential conflicts before appointment and subsequently report any changes at each meeting. It is up to ICNIRP to evaluate whether there is conflict of interest. Declarations of interests are available on the ICNIRP website.

ICNIRP does not accept any financial support from industry. Its sole sources of funding are national governments and international scientific bodies, who either grant yearly support or finance occasionally single projects such as the development of documents, ICNIRP meetings, scientific congresses and workshops. The sources of funding are acknowledged in the ICNIRP documents and publications and on the website (link).

ICNIRP activities take place under the scrutiny of the scientific community. Its conferences and workshops are widely attended. ICNIRP presents its draft guidelines online for public review and comment before publication.

ICNIRP's activities are solely scientific. Its guidelines and statements do not address policy or national or international risk management. ICNIRP supports the principle of a strict separation between health risk assessment and health risk management.

A fundamental requirement for a balanced evidence based health risk assessment is the inclusion of the totality of the available science in the evaluation process. However evaluation of studies needs to consider a set of quality criteria that are widely agreed and have been in use for decades within the scientific community.

Ideally health risk assessment should be derived from human studies. However, in spite of their direct relevance, the results of human studies alone, for instance from epidemiology, may not provide sufficient evidence of causal relationships. Animal experiments are valuable in the analysis of biological effects and mechanisms, as they involve a complete organism, including all relevant reactions of the organism. Cell studies can provide detailed information on biophysical mechanisms at the level of molecular, cellular or inter-cellular interactions. The results of animal and cell experiments need to be carefully interpreted in order to be meaningfully extrapolated to humans. Establishing risk normally requires consistent information from several studies.

See more information in “General Approach to Protection against Non Ionizing Radiation” (Health Physics 82 (4):540-548; 2002)