Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE)

COMARE advises on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation, both ionising and non-ionising.

Role of the group

COMARE is a Department of Health and Social Care expert committee, but it provides independent advice to all government departments and agencies.

At its meetings, the committee has representatives from:

  • Department for Energy Security & Net Zero

  • Department for Levelling Up, Housing & Communities

  • Department of Health and Social Care

  • Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (Northern Ireland)

  • Environment Agency

  • Food Standards Agency

  • Food Standards Scotland

  • Health and Safety Executive

  • NHS Scotland

  • Nuclear Decommissioning Authority

  • Office for Nuclear Regulation

  • Public Health Scotland

  • Scottish Environment Protection Agency

  • Scottish Government

  • UK Health Security Agency

  • Welsh Government

Terms of reference

To assess and advise government and the devolved administrations on the health effects of natural and man-made radiation and to assess the adequacy of the available data and the need for further research.

COMARE Work Programme: 2023-2024 (PDF, 33.9 KB, 2 pages)

Publications

COMARE Annual Report: 2022 (PDF, 66 KB, 4 pages)

COMARE Statement - September 2023

COMARE Statement on the completion of the remediation of radioactively contaminated land at Dalgety Bay (PDF, 44.2 KB, 2 pages)

COMARE Reports

COMARE - files for early reports, statements and other documents

Past documents, including statements and history of the committee, are also held on the committee pages on the National Archives website.

Meetings

Minutes

4th July 2023: Minutes 135th meeting (PDF, 67.6 KB, 5 pages)

8th March 2023: Minutes 134th meeting (PDF, 68 KB, 5 pages)

15th November 2022: Minutes 133rd meeting (PDF, 106 KB, 7 pages)

7th July 2022: Minutes 132nd meeting (PDF, 49.6 KB, 5 pages)

COMARE meeting minutes and agendas

Abbreviations list for COMARE meeting minutes (PDF, 99.5 KB, 4 pages)

COMARE meetings - 2023

134th meeting - 8th March 2023 - online

135th meeting - 4th July 2023 - online

136th meeting - 23rd November 2023 - in-person

COMARE meetings - 2024

137th meeting - 6th March 2024 - online

138th meeting - 10th July 2024 - online

139th meeting - 13th November 2024 - in-person

Open meetings

COMARE holds open in-person meetings to increase the visibility and transparency of its work. To attend a meeting as an observer, you will need to send an open meetings application form to the secretariat and follow the code of conduct for observers.

Procedure for open meetings (updated July 2022) (PDF, 67.3 KB, 3 pages)

Open meetings application form (updated July 2022) (PDF, 62.1 KB, 3 pages)

Membership

COMARE chooses members for their medical and scientific expertise and has never had members from the nuclear or electrical power supply industries. Current members are:

  • Professor John Harrison (Chair)

  • Dr Jane Barrett

  • Professor Frank de Vocht (University of Bristol)

  • Dr Mark Hill (University of Oxford)

  • Dr Ray Kemp (Lay member)

  • Dr Colin Martin (University of Glasgow)

  • Professor Stewart Martin (University of Nottingham)

  • Dr Susan McCready-Shea

  • Dr Richard McNally (Newcastle University)

  • Dr Teik Chooi Oh (Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust)

  • Professor David Read (University of Surrey)

  • Professor Lesley Rhodes (University of Manchester)

  • Professor Graham Smith

  • Professor James Smith (University of Portsmouth)

  • Professor Malcolm Sperrin (Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust)

  • Professor David Sutton (NHS Tayside)

  • Professor Mireille Toledano (Imperial College, London)

  • Dr Chris Westcott (Lay member)

COMARE Subcommittees, Subgroups and Working Groups (PDF, 60.6 KB, 5 pages)

Declarations of members' interests (PDF, 33.8 KB, 1 page)

Code of practice

COMARE adheres to the guidelines laid down in the code of practice for scientific advisory committees (Government Office for Science, 2021) as is appropriate and in agreement with the Department of Health and Social Care.

COMARE Code of Conduct (updated July 2022) (PDF, 51 KB, 2 pages)

Contact

Email: comare@ukhsa.gov.uk

COMARE Secretariat
c/o UK Health Security Agency
Radiation, Chemical and Environmental Hazards
Chilton
Oxon OX11 0RQ

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