Health Physics

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Health Physics is an interdisciplinary science and its application, for the radiation protection of humans and the environment. Health Physics combines the elements of physics, biology, chemistry, statistics and electronic instrumentation to provide information that can be used to protect individuals from the effects of radiation.

[Rennhack]

The science concerned with the recognition, evaluation, and control of health and environmental hazards that may arise from the use and application of ionizing radiation.

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A scientific field that focuses on radiation protection of humans and the environment. Health Physics uses physics, biology, chemistry, statistics and electronic instrumentation to help protect individuals from any damaging effects of radiation.

http://www.hps.org/publicinformation/

[Rennhack]

This term originated during the Manhattan Project, which was the name of the effort to develop the atomic bomb during the 1940s. Most of the scientists involved in that project were physicists. Those physicists responsible for health and safety concerns were called health physicists.

The name stuck and today they can be found at work at nuclear power plants, on military submarines, in hospitals (where they are called medical physicists), and at research universities, to name just a few. 
Health physics provides the practical means for protecting workers, the general public, and the environment from harmful radiation exposures. At EPA, health physicists work with other scientists to provide the technical basis for radiation protection policies and regulations.