Generally speaking, to prevent effects on health, safety provisions are based on limits to be respected, which have been established after analysing the results of epidemiological studies on people and experiments on animals. The same holds true for radiation protection, for which limits have been established for doses of external radiation, and for quantities of radioactive substances taken in by individuals, i.e. substances that can be inhaled or ingested. In practice, the dose limit is the level of nuisance that must not be exceeded for an activity to be carried out routinely, without running an unacceptable risk for people and society.
The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends dose limits to which workers and the general population may be exposed.
