CHERNOBYL:

Looking Back to Go Forward

Proceedings

of an international conference

Vienna, 6–7 September 2005

CHERNOBYL: LOOKING BACK

TO GO FORWARD

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March 2008

STI/PUB/1312

IAEA Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

International Conference on Chernobyl: Looking Back to go Forward (2005 : Vienna, Austria) Chernobyl: looking back to go forward : proceedings of an International Conference on Chernobyl: Looking Back to go Forward / organized by the International Atomic Energy Agency on behalf of the Chernobyl Forum and held in Vienna, 6–7 September 2005.

p. ; 24 cm. (Proceedings series, ISSN 0074–1884) STI/PUB/1312

ISBN 978–92–0–110807–4 Includes bibliographical references.

1. Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986. 2. Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986 — Environmental aspects. 3. Chernobyl Nuclear Accident, Chernobyl, Ukraine, 1986 — Health aspects. I. International Atomic Energy Agency. II. Series : Proceedings series (International Atomic Energy Agency).

FOREWORD

On 26 April 1986, the most destructive accident in the history of the nuclear industry occurred at Unit 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant located 100 km to the north of Kiev, in Ukraine (at that time, part of the USSR). The subsequent reactor fire, which lasted for ten days, resulted in an unprecedented release of radioactive material that contaminated more than 200 000 km2 of European territory, predominantly adjacent areas of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. The accident led to numerous immediate and long term adverse consequences for the public and the environment. It has also had substantial psycho-social and economic impacts on the affected populations and has negatively influenced the nuclear industry worldwide.

The international community was involved from the early days in the assessments and the practical efforts to overcome the consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The first post-accident review meeting was organized by the IAEA in August 1986. In 1990, at the request of the Soviet Government, the IAEA organized an assessment of the radiological consequences and an evaluation of protective measures by a large group of international experts coordinated by an International Advisory Committee. During this large scale project, called the International Chernobyl Project, about 200 experts from numerous countries contributed to both the field work and the subsequent assessment and development of recommendations. Very informative conferences organized in 1996 by the European Commission (EC), in Minsk, and jointly by the EC, the IAEA and the World Health Organization (WHO), in Vienna, summarized the results of ten years of studies and clarified the environmental, health, social and economic consequences of the accident.

Although the accident occurred two decades ago, there remains much controversy concerning its real impact. Therefore, the IAEA, in cooperation with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN-OCHA), the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), WHO and the World Bank, as well as the competent authorities of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, established the Chernobyl Forum early in 2003. The mission of the Forum was to generate, through a series of managerial and expert meetings, ‘authoritative consensual statements’ on the environmental consequences and health effects attributable to radiation exposure arising from the accident, as well as to provide advice on environmental remediation and special health care programmes, and to suggest areas in which further research was required. The Forum was established as a

contribution to the United Nations’ ten year strategy for Chernobyl, launched in 2002 with the publication of ‘Human Consequences of the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident: A Strategy for Recovery’.

Over a two year period, two groups of experts from 12 countries, including Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, and from relevant international organizations, assessed the accident’s environmental and health consequences. Early in 2005, the Expert Group on ‘Environment’, coordinated by the IAEA, and the Expert Group on ‘Health’, coordinated by the WHO, presented their reports for the consideration of the Chernobyl Forum. At a meeting held in April 2005, the Forum approved both reports and decided, among other things:

“to consider the approved reports…as a common position of the Forum members, i.e., of the eight United Nations organizations and the three most affected countries, regarding the environmental and health consequences of the Chernobyl accident, as well as recommended future actions, i.e., as a consensus within the United Nations system.”

In addition, UNDP has drawn on the work of eminent economists and policy specialists to assess the socioeconomic impact of the Chernobyl accident.

The conference that is recorded in these proceedings was organized by the IAEA on behalf of the Chernobyl Forum. Its objective was to inform governments and the general public about the Forum’s findings regarding the environmental and health consequences of the Chernobyl accident, as well as its social and economic consequences, and to present the Forum’s recommendations on further remediation, special health care, and research and development programmes, with the overall aim of promoting an international consensus on these issues. The conference was held in Vienna on 6 and 7 September 2005. It was attended by 250 participants from 41 countries and 20 international organizations. The release of the Forum reports and details of the conference were accompanied by a press campaign organized by public information experts from the IAEA, WHO and UNDP. The conference summarized nearly 20 years of research and succeeded in bringing about a broad consensus on the consequences of the Chernobyl accident among the experts from all over the world who attended the meeting. As such, it was felt that its results should be widely disseminated with the aim of informing the general public and decision makers about the real impact of the accident, the lessons learned and relevant future actions.

These proceedings contain all the presentations, the discussions during the conference and the overall conference findings, presented by B. Bennett,

of the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, Japan, who was Chairman of the Chernobyl Forum and also chaired the conference.

EDITORIAL NOTE

The papers in these Proceedings (including the figures, tables and references) have undergone only the minimum copy editing considered necessary for the reader’s assistance. The views expressed remain, however, the responsibility of the named authors or participants. In addition, the views are not necessarily those of the governments of the nominating Member States or of the nominating organizations.

The report does not address questions of responsibility, legal or otherwise, for acts or omissions on the part of any person.

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