Radiation protection is the science of protecting humans from the effects of ionizing rays, whether they are elementary particles such as protons and neutrons or high-energy electromagnetic rays such as X-rays and gamma rays. The results of this science, which combines physics and medicine, have been included in globally agreed upon instructions and commandments, and each country places them within its laws for the purpose of radiation protection. It is imperative for workers in the scientific and industrial fields, as well as doctors who specialize in dealing with materials and devices that emit ionizing radiation, to follow these commandments and laws, in order to preserve their health and safety, as well as the safety of patients who are treated with radiation and radioactive isotopes. This also applies to radiographers.
European countries have formed a body specialized in issuing recommendations for the protection of ionizing radiation, and it is called the European Atomic Energy Community. On the basis of the commandments of that body, each European country undertakes to place those commandments in its laws and instructions in this regard within its borders. The recommendations of the European Commission for the Protection of Ionizing Radiation stem from the recommendations of the International Commission for Ionizing Radiation Protection (ICRP). This international body bases its information and recommendations on the results of studying the effects of nuclear radiation on the Japanese who were injured by the radiation of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombs during World War II, as well as on the research of experts in the field of studying the effects of various rays on living organisms.
Austria amended the Radiation Protection Act (StSG) on 1 January 2004 to bring it into line with the European Union Radiation Protection Amendment Act. The new law succeeded the previous one issued in 1969.