Radiation Protection Glossary

A radiation protection glossary for Radiation Protection Supervisors (RPS), Radiation Protection Advisers (RPA) and anyone else interesting in radiation safety terms and definitions. The glossary is a mixture of health physics , phrases related to radiation protection legislation, transport, practical safety, technical terms and similar.

Search the Glossary by either clicking on a letter or typing a keyword into the search box. This glossary is relational so when looking at one term you can click through to other related terms as required.

For formal advice, see our Radiation Protection Adviser pages. 

J

    Joule

    The Joule (J) is the SI unit of energy. One Joule is the energy expended when a force of one newton is applied over a displacement of one meter in the direction of the force. The use of the joule is probably limited in Radiation Protection but is used in the definition of Absorbed Dose and the Electron volt.

    Justification

    Justification is one of the first three principles of the ICRP system of radiological protection. Justification, together with Optimisation and Limitation, are used as the basis of Radiation Protection internationally. Justification is defined in the ICRP 123 publication as 'no practice involving exposures to radiation should be adopted unless it produces sufficient benefit to the exposed individual or to society to offset the Detriment it causes'.

The ultimate paradox, of course, is that even though we're all going to die, we've all got to live in the meantime…

– Brian Cox -