The International Conference One Decade After Chernobyl:
Summing up the Consequences of the Accident
From 8-12 April 1996 at the Vienna Inter-national Centre, the IAEA, European Commission (EC), and the World Health Organization (WHO) jointly sponsored an International Conference to recapitulate the scientific understanding of the major social, health, and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl accident. The Conference was organized in co-operation with the UN through its Department of Humanita-rian Affairs (UNDHA), the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the UN, and the Organization for the Economic Co-operation and Development through its Nuclear Energy Agency (OECD/NEA).
Some 800 scientists and government officials in fields of nuclear energy, radiation safety, and health care attended the meeting, as well as more than 200 representatives of the media. Participants included high-level governmental representatives from the accident's three most heavily affected countries - Belarus, the Russian Federation, and Ukraine - and delegates from almost 90 States and intergovernmental organizations.
The Conference President was Dr. Angela Merkel, Minister for Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety of Germany, assisted by a Bureau of senior scientists. An Advisory Committee of senior experts from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine monitored the Conferences organization and development.
The Conference featured a range of sessions at which experts reviewed the findings of work carried out to date, including the outcome of two major international conferences, one hosted in November 1995 by WHO and the other in March 1996 under EC auspices in Minsk. It also considered the outcome of an IAEA/UNDHA International Forum on Nuclear Safety Aspects held in Vienna the week before the Conference. Opening addresses were made by IAEA Director General Hans Blix; WHO Director General Hiroshi Nakajima; H.Tent, EC Director General for Science, Research and Development; and M. Griffiths, UNHDA Director. The Conference further featured national statements by Alyaksandr Lukashenko, President of Belarus; A. Shoigu, Minister for Emergencies, Russia; and Yevgeni Marchuk, Prime Minister of Ukraine.
In a Briefing Seminar, seven keynote presentations were given by representatives of UNESCO; UNSCEAR; FAO; OECD/NEA and of organizations in Germany, Japan, and the United States on the results of major bilateral post-Chernobyl assistance projects.
The technical symposium featured eight separate topical sessions on a range of social, health, and environmental subjects. Topics included clinically observed health effects; thyroid effects; longer term health effects; other health-related effects including psychological effects, stress and anxiety; consequences for the environment; the social, economic, institutional and political impact; nuclear safety remedial measures; the consequences in perspective, and a prognosis for the future. For each session, Background Papers had been prepared in advance by committees of senior experts, including experts from Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine, nominated by the Advisory Committee. At each Topical Session, the Rapporteur introduced the relevant Background Paper and any related scientific papers presented at a Poster Session. A following open discussion proved extremely stimulating and lively. The conclusions of each session were reported to the Bureau of the President and summarized at the Final Session of the Technical Symposium. In addition to the plenary discussions, some 181 individual scientific posters were displayed as well as 12 technical exhibits of key projects. On the last day, a rather provocative panel discussion took place with representatives of the media, science and government, which further explored the public's perception of the Chernobyl accident consequences and tried to address why it differed from that of experts.
Conference proceedings, including a Summary of Results, are being published by the IAEA. Information also is available through the IAEA's World Atom Internet Services at http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/thisweek/preview/chernobyl.
Mr. Crick, a staff member of the IAEA Department of Nuclear Safety, served as Scientific Secretary of the Conference.