2 J.-M. Bertho et M. Bourguignon: Radioprotection 2025, 60( 1), 1 – 3
The French Society for Radiological Protection( SFRP) is 60 years old
Sixty years! The SFRP is a charity( association under French law 1901) which celebrates its sixtieth anniversary in 2025. A great longevity for a learned society, especially in a field reserved for a restricted community. The SFRP was one of the first learned societies in radiological protection in the world, established on February 18, 1965 from the merger of the Society of Radiation Protection Engineers( SIRP) and the Society for Radiation Protection( SRP). Its founding president is General N. Chassende-Baroz. The SFRP was immediately affiliated, as a French learned society, to the International Association for Radiological Protection( IRPA), created a few years earlier.
From the outset, the SFRP has set itself the mission of being a place for exchanges between radiological protection players to protect people and property against ionizing radiation. It is first and foremost a learned society at the junction of various disciplines: physics, chemistry, biology, medicine and social sciences. It is also an association bringing together a wide variety of professionals: engineers, industrialists, researchers, technicians, operational radiological protection specialists, doctors, radiographers, and people skilled in radiological protection. The collective challenge of maintaining " social " cohesion between all these stakeholders who, without it, would have few opportunities to meet and exchange has been maintained throughout the existence of the SFRP.
Disseminating a culture of radiological protection beyond the world of specialists is also a mission of the SFRP. In this respect, the need for a journal to publish scientific work quickly becomes apparent, and the first issue of the journal " Radioprotection " was published in 1966. An Events committee, which allowed the formalization of the organization of the various SFRP meetings, was created a little later. On these occasions, the confrontations between all the players in radiological protection, the sharing of knowledge, experiences and ideas within the national and international community and with the rest of society are a guarantee of transparency, efficiency and objectivity. Indeed, radiological protection is also an area of activity that interferes with entire sections of our society: from the organization of labor within companies using ionizing radiation, the development of medical practices, to the management of territories with regard to natural sources of radioactivity( or sometimes those inherited from the past), the management of accidental risk linked to nuclear activities, and ultimately to the social perception of nuclear and radiological risk( Pasquier et al., 2024).
In the current era of profound societal changes driven by media, particularly social media, but also by the recent health crisis and the emergence of new tools such as artificial intelligence, we can question not the evolution of the role of a learned society, but its way of functioning. The two essential missions of the SFRP of exchanging best practices and disseminating a culture of radiological protection are and will always remain relevant. As proof, we only need to look at recent publications on the state of knowledge among specialists and the population, and the shortcomings in radiation protection( Alomairy, 2024, El Fahssi et al., 2024, MirDerikvand et al., 2023, Rincon et al., 2024, Shubayr, 2024, Yuan et al., 2024), but also the importance of disseminating a culture of radiological protection, particularly in post-accident situations( Assiri et al., 2023, Canet et al., 2024, Hande et al., 2023, Ito and Goto 2024). What is changing, and what our learned society must adapt to, is the way we communicate. The 13 th SFRP congress in 2021, held entirely remotely due to the Covid pandemic, paved the way for virtual exchanges and other ways of disseminating knowledge. Thus, the success of the SFRP webinars shows that it is not only possible but interesting to use other exchange media. Nevertheless, the pleasure of meeting physically at the 14 th congress in Dijon in 2023 clearly showed that the warmth of direct human exchanges is irreplaceable! Setting up workshops to transmit know-how, as the SFRP organizes during the meetings of Radiological Protection Officers and experts( French PCR), is also popular with participants. For our journal, a major change is the publication in Open Access since April 2024, which is also in line with current developments( Bourguignon and Bertho, 2024). For scientific communication to be effective, it must be completely accessible, while remaining of a high quality level.
At 60 years old, the SFRP is not yet an old lady. It must continue its evolution by investing even more in these constantly evolving means of communication, and by always basing itself on the rigor and accuracy of the discourse. But it must also preserve what constitutes its DNA: exchanges between radiation protectionists( in the broadest possible sense) and with stakeholders and the public, in a spirit of openness, constructiveness and warmth. Let us therefore collectively wish, and through our commitment, a very long life for the SFRP!
Références
Alomairy NA. 2024. Evaluating the knowledge and attitudes towards radiation protection in portable radiological examinations among nurses in pediatric intensive care units. Radioprotection 59( 1): 36 – 41. https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2023044.
Assiri M, Almalki M, Shubayr N, Alqahtani A, Darwish R, Alotaibi F, Alanazi M, Alzahrani M, Alrumyan S, Alghamdi Y. 2023. Medical preparedness and response for a nuclear or radiological emergency: An assessment study in selected hospitals of the ministry of health across Saudi Arabia. Radioprotection 58( 4): 281 – 288. https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2023028.
Bourguignon M, Bertho JM. 2023. Radioprotection passe en « open access » pour 2024. Radioprotection is“ open access” for 2024. Radioprotection 59( 2): 66 – 68. https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2024016. Canet L, Takada M, Yasutaka T. 2023. Comparative qualitative and quantitative analysis of guidelines for nuclear accident recovery.
Radioprotection 59( 2): 69 – 79. https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2023043. El Fahssi M, Semghouli S, Amaoui B, Elkhalladi J, Çaoui M, Jroundi L. 2023. Radiographers’ attitudes toward the principles of patient radiation protection in the Souss Massa region of Morocco. Radioprotection 59( 3): 189 – 196. https:// doi. org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2024014.