5. Special case of internal contamination

The health effects following internal contamination should not, a priori, differ from those observed after external irradiation. This assertion is supported by the fact that the basic physical and biochemical consequences of irradiation are similar, whatever the position of the radiation source. In fact, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) considers that the health effects resulting from radiological exposure are independent of the position of the radiation source, and therefore includes situations of internal contamination in the general system of radiation protection