Quality assurance systems for individual monitoring services

The International Basic Safety Standards for Protection Against Ionizing Radiation and for the Safety of Radiation Sources (BSS) require, inter alia, the establishment and implementation of quality assurance programmes to ensure that protection and safety requirements are met. The findings and conclusions of the International Conference on Topical Issues in Nuclear and Radiation Safety held in Vienna in 1998 includes, among others, the following recommendation concerning occupational radiation protection: The BSS require a quality assurance (QA) programme to be established as part of radiological protection. Extensive guidance for the development of a QA system is given in reports of ISO and IEC, but further guidance is needed on the interpretation and implementation of these standards. This paper is focused on the available international standards on quality assurance and on the work the IAEA is currently carrying out for their implementation in radiation monitoring services.