Organisation
The Institute was founded as Institute of Occupational Hygiene on 27 December 1947. Today, Institute for Medical research and Occupational Health (IMROH) is an independent public institution, the second largest Croatian research Centre reporting to the Ministry of Science, Education and Sports. IMROH, as Croatian Research centre of excellence, encourages multi-disciplinary approach to studying howchemical, physical, and biological agents in the general and working environment affect biological
systems from a macromolecule to an entire organism. This approach has significantly contributed to
the understanding of human exposure and risk assessment. More than thirty years of research in
environmental and occupational health where in a multi-disciplinary environment, scientific staff and
postgraduate students work together to distinguish the Institute in biomedical and environmental
research, toxicology, occupational health, chemistry, physics – medical physics, and biology has
enabled IMROH to accredited three laboratories according to standards (ISO/IEC 17025:2007) to carry
out testing in the scope of ionising radiation protection, the determination of radioactivity, air quality,
and air pollutants reporting to the corresponding governmental authorities, especially to State Office
for Radiation Protection. IMROH is a certified professional Technical Service for Radiation Protection
(TSRP) according the EU COUNCIL DIRECTIVE 2013/59/EURATOM. Ministry of environmental
protection and Ministry of agriculture certified IMROH. At least four research units perform research
connected to radiation protection and low dose research, Unit for Radiation Dosimetry and
Radiobiology (local background radiation, artificial exposure, occupational exposures, exposure of the
patients undergoing various diagnostic and therapy treatments, instrumentation developments,
Medical Physics, NDT, security issues, risk assessments, non-ionizing radiation protection and
else), Unit for Radiation Protection (dealing with environmental exposures, radioecology, radioactivity
of biosphere, water and food chain, emergencies and first respond team..) and Unit for Mutagenesis
dealing with research on molecular, cellular and genetic level. Additional research is done by the Unit
for Environmental Hygiene where the air pollution research is performed. Finally, Unit for Occupational
and Environmental Health provides epidemiological studies and medical research on environmental
pollutant stressors and impact on human health. IMROH provides expert advice to law and policy
makers related to environmental protection and safety at work, helps implement adopted regulations,
and helps to adapt them to the requirements of sustained development, which is under the constant
pressure of the growing economy. On these premises, IMROH has committed itself to encouraging
excellence in scientific research and has joined the research platforms MELODI, ALLIANCE and
EURADOS.
Role in the project
Above-mentioned units have a mandate for research in low dose research area. IMROH can provide
an outdoor environmental-ecosystem reference research polygon. Activities in radiological protection
extend to the workers, the public and the environment, evaluation and reduction of radiological
impacts of NORM and industrial polluted sites, environmental radioactivity measurement, personal
(occupational and patient) and environmental (special electronic) dosimetry, risk assessment
procedures and quality assessment procedures (medicine – nuclear medicine),mutagenesis and
occupational and environmental health risk assessments and protocols. IMROH will contribute (to an
extent of its research and educational capabilities) together with other associated institution and/or
University departments in Croatia mainly to work packages WP4, WP5, WP6 and WP1.7.