The Centre for Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards (CRCE) is a British government environmental research site, run by

Public Health England Public Health England (PHE) was an executive agency of the Department of Health and Social Care in England which began operating on 1 April 2013 to protect and improve health and wellbeing and reduce health inequalities. Its formation came as a ...

(PHE) in

Chilton, Oxfordshire Chilton is a village and civil parish in the Vale of White Horse about southwest of Didcot. The parish was part of Berkshire until the 1974 local government boundary changes transferred the Vale of White Horse to Oxfordshire. The 2011 Census ...

that monitors levels of toxic chemicals and background radiation in the British environment; it is largely a continuation of the former

National Radiological Protection Board The National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) was a public authority in the UK created by the Radiological Protection Act 1970. Its statutory functions were to conduct research on radiological protection and provide advice and information on th ...

(NRPB).

History

The Radiation Protection Division of the

Health Protection Agency The Health Protection Agency (HPA) was a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom. It was an organisation that was set up by the UK government in 2003 to protect the public from threats to their health from infectious diseases and envi ...

was formed on 1 April 2005, due to the Health Protection Agency Act 2004, directly superseding the NRPB. This became the CRCE due to the

Health and Social Care Act 2012 The Health and Social Care Act 2012c 7 is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provided for the most extensive reorganisation of the structure of the National Health Service in England to date.''BMJ'', 2011; 342:d408Dr Lansley's Mon ...

, when Public Health England was formed.

Structure

It is part of PHE's Radiation Protection Adviser Services. PHE was the UK's first Radiation Protection Adviser Body, under the Ionising Radiations Regulations (IRR) 17 (which came from the

International Commission on Radiological Protection The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its r ...

Function

It monitors

background radiation Background radiation is a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location which is not due to deliberate introduction of radiation sources. Background radiation originates from a variety of sources ...

in the UK. Workers exposed to radiation include workers in

dental radiography Dental radiographs, commonly known as X-rays, are radiographs used to diagnose hidden dental structures, malignant or benign masses, bone loss, and cavities. A radiographic image is formed by a controlled burst of X-ray radiation which penetrate ...

and

nuclear power stations A nuclear power plant (NPP) is a thermal power station in which the heat source is a nuclear reactor. As is typical of thermal power stations, heat is used to generate steam that drives a steam turbine connected to a generator that produces elec ...

; exposure to radiation for workers in the UK must be

ALARP ALARP ("as low as reasonably practicable"), or ALARA ("as low as reasonably achievable"), is a principle in the regulation and management of safety-critical and safety-involved systems. The principle is that the residual risk shall be reduced as f ...

. It offers 3-day training courses around twice a month, at a national level, for workers exposed to radiation. It produces reports on environmental background radiation in England.CRCE Reports
/ref> It works with the ICRP, the

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was set up by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955. 21 states are designated to provide scientists to serve as members of the committee which ...

(UNSCEAR), and the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

(IAEA). Inside the UK, it works with the

Scottish Environment Protection Agency The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA; gd, Buidheann Dìon Àrainneachd na h-Alba) is Scotland's Environmental regulation, environmental regulator and national flood forecasting, flood warning and strategic flood risk management au ...

(SEPA) and the

Environment Agency The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...

(EA).

References

External links

Radiation Protection Adviser Services

UK Radon
{{authority control Education in Oxfordshire Environmental chemistry Environmental organisations based in the United Kingdom Environmental research institutes Environmental toxicology Nuclear medicine organizations Nuclear research institutes in the United Kingdom Public Health England Radiation protection organizations Radiology organizations Radon Research institutes in Oxfordshire Toxicology in the United Kingdom Vale of White Horse

History

Structure

Function

See also

References

External links