ERC Project / HRP-IAEA
Living with Radiation – the Role of the International Atomic Agency in the History of Radiation Protection
official webpageHRP-IAEA – research focus
How best to protect us from ionizing radiation?
Despite the establishment of technical radiation standards, the harmful effects of radiation exposure continue to be a major issue in the nuclear world. Obviously, radiation protection is not a strictly techno-scientific issue.
Living with Radiation turns our attention to nuclear diplomacy as a means for understanding how our scientific knowledge about radiation protection has been shaped by diplomatic, social, economic, and political concerns. Our research marks a diplomatic turn in the history of science.
![](https://www.stgs.fau.de/files/2021/05/c0190-001_f-300x235.jpg)
![The temporary headquarters of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Kaerntner Ring in early 1960s (IAEA archives)](https://www.stgs.fau.de/files/2021/05/01210204_4384437756_o-226x300.jpg)
What we do
- study the historical role of the IAEA in shaping radiation protection
- explore societal concerns around radiation protection
- analyze the multiplicity of nuclear diplomacies
- prepare policy recommendations on science diplomacy
Final ERC results will affect those who
- design and implement radiation protection policies,
- deal with radioactive materials both in nuclear industries and in the medical sector,
- encounter radiation in their daily lives—as most of us do.