Abstract
In the Stockholm Statement of ICRP, the effective dose equivalent, HE, was defined as a radiological protection quantity based on quality factor Q (L) and tissue weighting factor, WT, specified in ICRP Publication 26 for estimation of stochastic effects of an individual. In ICRU Report 51, the effective dose equivalent, HE, was revised as a radiological protection quantity based on Q (L) and WT specified in ICRP Publication 60. But in ICRP Publication 74 and in ICRU Report 57, HE was retrogressively redefined as a quantity based on WT specified in ICRP Publication 26. This retrogressive redefinition has introduced confusion into the current definition of HE. The definition of HE of ICRU Report 51 should be declared to be valid in the latest documents of ICRP and ICRU, in order to eliminate the confusion. The effective dose, E, shows from 2 to 4 times as large as that of HE of ICRU Report 51 for proton, and maximum 2 times as large as that for neutron from 20 MeV to 10 GeV, although this HE employs Q (L) and WT in ICRP Publication 60. The revision of current radiation weighting factors, WR, is necessary for high energy proton and neutron to resolve this inconsistency.
