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The International Radiation Protection Association, IRPA, promotes the excellence in radiation protection by providing benchmarks of good practice, as well as enhancing professional competence and networking. In relation to emergency situations, including post-accident and recovery phases, a key issue is the ability of the system of protection to take a broader view of societal values, along with the need to develop processes which support and respect the dignity and well-being of the affected populations. Regarding the various situations of radiation exposure, IRPA's activities include aspects which can contribute to medical preparedness in radiation emergencies, focusing particularly on stakeholder engagement, radiation protection culture, the ethical dimensions of radiation protection and public understanding of risks. As it is a combination of science, experience, ethical and social values, radiation protection culture promotes radiation risk awareness in the different exposure situations, including the implementation of countermeasures in radiation and nuclear emergencies and post-accident situations, with attention also on medical countermeasures.

Prudence is a cornerstone of radiation protection philosophy. However, whilst the concept is clearly valid at the level of principle, it is nonetheless necessary to ask 'How should prudence be applied in the context of various practical situations.' This is perhaps particularly important where exposures are low-within the range of natural background, where changes in the level of protection will have no meaningful impact whatsoever on the overall exposure level of any individual. The concept of prudence is applied at a 'top tier' level through the application of the Linear No Threshold hypothesis. In day-to-day protection considerations, including many types of dose assessments, the concept of prudence has translated into the need to take a conservative approach. This paper considers the combined impact of accumulated layers of conservatism, using the example of clearance as a case study. It concludes that doses actually resulting from the clearance process are typically more than two orders of magnitude below the internationally agreed objective of 'some tens of µSv y-1', which was itself established on the basis of considerable prudence. The implications of this outcome are discussed., (© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)