The ICRU has as its principal objective the development of internationally accepted recommendations regarding:
(1) quantities and units of radiation and radioactivity;
(2) procedures suitable for the measurement and application of these quantities in diagnostic radiology, radiation therapy, radiation biology, nuclear medicine, radiation protection, and industrial and environmental activities;
(3) physical data needed in the application of these procedures, the use of which assures uniformity in reporting.
The ICRU endeavours to collect and evaluate the latest data and information pertinent to the problems of radiation measurement, and to recommend in its publications the most appropriate values of radiation quantities and the most acceptable and safest techniques for current use. The Commission maintains close contacts with the US National Council on Radiation Protection (NCRP) as well as with other international organizations including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), World Health Organization (WHO), the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), the International Bureau of Weights and Measures/Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) and the International Committee for Weights and Measures/ComitéInternational des Poids et Mesures (CIPM). Many organizations and institutes, radiation workers, patients (particularly those with cancer) and indeed the public benefit directly from the activities of the ICRU.