A review of the status of radiation protection experts, carried out by the European Commission in 2002, revealed a considerable variation in the approaches of European countries to education and vocational training arrangements for radiation protection. The review also indicated widely differing interpretations of the role and qualifications of the Qualified Expert. These findings were a cause of concern, indicating as they did differing views on the functions and training needs of radiation protection professionals - a situation that prevented a harmonised approach to training and inhibited the free movement of these professionals across the EU Member States. The review prompted the European Commission DG Transport and Energy in 2006 to initiate the formation of the Platform on European Training and Education in Radiation Protection (EUTERP).

The objectives of the 3 year EUTERP project were:

The EUTERP project was led and managed by the Dutch nuclear research & consultancy group NRG, and overseen by a small steering committee containing several radiation protection experts and representatives from IAEA, IRPA, IFOMP and the EC. The Platform provided a forum for the discussion and resolution of issues linked to the objectives through annual workshops for interested participants.

The first workshop was held Vilnius, Lithuania, in May 2007 and a major topic for discussion was the interpretation of the BSS definition for the qualified expert. Other subjects discussed included the role of the radiation protection officer, the role of the medical physics expert and training requirements for radiation protection workers. An important conclusion of the Workshop was that the existing definition of the Qualified Expert in the BSS needed to be fundamentally revised to provide clarity on the role and the required level of expertise. Other conclusions included the need for a common understanding of the required competency of the QE, an agreed methodology for assessing competency and reference syllabi for training activities.

These topics were further developed at the 2nd workshop in Vilnius, April 2008, and the 3rd workshop in Anatalya, Turkey 2009. A primary outcome of these workshops was a series of recommendations to the European Commission for consideration during the BSS recast process. These included a proposal to change the term Qualified Expert to Radiation Protection Expert to more accurately describe the nature of the role, and a new definition for the RPE.

Other recommendations included the incorporation within the revised Directive of the function Radiation Protection Officer, and guidance on the roles and duties of the RPE and RPO. These recommendations were accepted by the Article 31 Expert group and are now incorporated into the new BSS 2013/59/Euratom of December 5 2013.

The work carried out in the period 2006-2010 is described in detail in several Newsletters, which are archived under the part "newsletters" on this website.