Interim Report of the JHPS Expert Committee on Radiation Protection of the Lens of the Eye (IV)

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and the International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements (ICRU) have been defined operational quantities and protection quantities. Dose limits have been also recommended by the ICRP using protection quantities. These quantities and some related values for main radiation such as photons, electrons, and neutrons, are summarized in this article with some historical considerations. The ICRP indicated conversion coefficients for the lens of the eye as absorbed dose per fluence as protection quantities. Equivalent dose is not used because a protection quantity that uses radiation weighting factors is not intended to be calculated for tissue reactions. So far, the ICRP has not indicated a specific RBE value for cataract formation. Operational quantities are used for measurements. There have been three types of phantoms, namely a slab phantom, a reduced phantom, and a cylindrical phantom, but none of them has been definitely recommended for the lens of the eye by the ICRP or the ICRU. Although conversion coefficients to personal dose equivalent, Hp(3), for electrons have been recommended, no other conversion coefficients to personal dose equivalent for the lens of the eye has been indicated by the ICRP or the ICRU. However, there have been several studies described personal dose equivalent. Ambient dose equivalent, H*(3), and directional dose equivalent, H'(3,a), have been indicated in several limited conditions by the ICRP and the ICRU. These status are overviewed in this article.