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The last meeting for the current 1997–2001 term of the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) took place in the United States in October 2000. After having met with its four standing Committees, the Main Commission took a number of important decisions. Two new ICRP reports were approved for publication; five new members were elected to the Commission for its next, 2001-2005, term; 20 new members were appointed to the four Committees; and a formal Task Group on New Recommendations was launched.

The Commission also reviewed drafts of forthcoming reports; reviewed the continuing work of its Committees; reviewed reactions of the international radiation protection community to initial proposals concerning new ICRP recommendations; and gave advice to its recently launched Task Group on Protection of the Natural Environment.

Each Committee discussed the scope of new, consolidated ICRP Recommendations, tentatively scheduled for approval in 2005, and their own contributions to the development of those Recommendations. They also reviewed the various projects and draft reports under their aegis. The Commission members participated in the meetings of the Committees and assisted in the progress of their work. The four Committees reported that progress to the Commission at the end of the meeting.

In connection with the meeting, the Commission also arranged a well-attended briefing session and reception for bodies interested in radiological protection.

During its Bethesda meeting the Main Commission approved two new reports from Committee 3 for publication. These were: Prevention of Accidents to Patients Undergoing Radiation Therapy; and Managing Patient Dose in Computed Tomography. These follow two previous reports from Committee 3, which had already been approved by the Commission, on Pregnancy and Medical Irradiation (ICRP Publication 84) and the present report on Avoidance of Radiation Injuries from Medical Interventional Procedures.

The Main Commission for its next term has established two Task Groups. The first Task Group is to be chaired by Lars-Erik Holm and is concerned with Protection of the Environment. It is intended to review the Commission's Policy, which is essentially that if humans are protected to the degree thought necessary, then other species are adequately protected. Some further information about this Task Group and its plans are shown on the Commission's Internet web site, www.icrp.org.

The second Task Group is established to take forward the development of the next recommendations of the Commission. It will be chaired by the Chairman of the Commission and consist of the Vice-Chairman and four Committee Chairmen from the 2001-2005 term. The Commission reviewed the comments received at the IRPA 10 meeting held in Hiroshima during May 2000, together with those offered by the four Committees. It was agreed that there should be an open literature publication to describe the progress made and the issues to be addressed in the next stage of the preparation of the Recommendations. The time-scale for their production is the term of the new Commission and Committees. Information about this project is also available through our web site, www.icrp.org

At the October 2000 meeting, elections were held for members to be invited to serve for the 2001-2005 term. There were five retirements from the Commission: Dan Beninson, Charles Meinhold, Hiro Matsudaira, Jean-Claude Nénot, and Leonid Ilyin. Those elected were Greta Dicus (USA), Yasuhito Sasaki (Japan), Annie Sugier (France), Rudolf Alexhakin (Russia), and Abel González (Argentina). The Chairmen of the four Standing Committees are Roger Cox (Committee 1), Christian Streffer (Committee 2, replacing Alexander Kaul who in 1999 had announced his intention to retire from ICRP at the end of the 1997-2001 term), Fred Mettler (Committee 3), and Bert Winkler (Committee 4). The final membership of the Main Commission and all of those appointed to the four Committees, as well as the existing emeritus members, is of course shown on our web site, www.icrp.org. Starting with the next issue, this information will also appear in print in the Annals of the ICRP.

The new Commission will meet again with the four Committees at the beginning of September 2001 in The Hague, Netherlands, when the Dutch Ministry of Environment will be the hosts. A whole series of important decisions and exciting new ideas are likely to emerge at this first meeting of the new Commission and Committees. For those of you who are keen to keep abreast of developments within ICRP, my advice is obvious - watch this space!