PRINCIPLES FOR PRACTICES

Engineering is the application of scientific and mathematical principles for practical purposes. Engineering is subdivided into many disciplines aU create new products and make existing products or systems work more efficiently, faster, safer, or at less cost. The products of engineering are ubiquitous and range from the familiar, such as microwave ovens and sound systems in movie theaters, to the complex, such as rocket propulsion systems and genetic engineering. 

As an example of the latter category, he indicated that a former radium luminising operation could be dealt with as a practice, but if contamination were discovered, which was the result of some previous radium operation whose owners were not known, it might be considered as an intervention situation. He summarised ICRP Principles for practices (justification, optimisation and dose/risk limits and constraints) and for intervention (justification and optimisation). He pointed out that dose limits may be counter-productive for intervention, because this could limit the justification principle. The underlying philosophy is to do more good than harm. 

---