The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was set up by resolution of the
United Nations General Assembly
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; french: link=no, Assemblée générale, AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as the main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ of the UN. Curr ...
in 1955. 21 states are designated to provide scientists to serve as members of the committee which holds formal meetings (sessions) annually and submits a report to the General Assembly. The organisation has no power to set radiation standards nor to make recommendations in regard to nuclear testing. It was established solely to "define precisely the present exposure of the population of the world to ionizing radiation." A small secretariat, located in Vienna and functionally linked to the
UN Environment Program
The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...
, organizes the annual sessions and manages the preparation of documents for the committee's scrutiny.
Function
![International policy system radiological protection](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fe/International_policy_system_radiological_protection.png)
UNSCEAR issues major public reports on ''Sources and Effects of
Ionizing Radiation
Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
'' from time to time. As of 2017, there have been 28 major publications from 1958 to 2017. The reports are all available from the UNSCEAR website. These works are very highly regarded as sources of authoritative information and are used throughout the world as a scientific basis for evaluation of radiation risk. The publications review studies undertaken separately from a range of sources. Reports from UN member states and other international organisations on data from survivors of the
atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States detonated two atomic bombs over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August 1945, respectively. The two bombings killed between 129,000 and 226,000 people, most of whom were civilians, and remain the onl ...
, the
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, near the city of Pripyat in the north of the Ukrainian SSR in the Soviet Union. It is one of only two nuc ...
, accidental, occupational, and medical exposure to
ionizing radiation
Ionizing radiation (or ionising radiation), including nuclear radiation, consists of subatomic particles or electromagnetic waves that have sufficient energy to ionize atoms or molecules by detaching electrons from them. Some particles can travel ...
.
Administration
Originally, in 1955, India and the Soviet Union wanted to add several neutralist and communist states, such as mainland China. Eventually a compromise with the US was made and Argentina, Belgium, Egypt and Mexico were permitted to join. The organisation was charged with collecting all available data on the effects of "ionising radiation upon man and his environment." (James J. Wadsworth - American representative to the General Assembly).
The committee was originally based in the Secretariat Building in New York City, but moved to Vienna in 1974.
The Secretaries of the Committee have been:
* Dr. Ray K. Appleyard (UK) (1956–1961)
* Dr. Francesco Sella (Italy) (1961–1974)
* Dr.
Dan Jacobo Beninson
Dan Jacobo Beninson (1931 – 2003) was an Argentine radiation expert who worked for the Argentine Atomic Energy Commission (CNEA) since 1955 holding different posts.
He chaired the institution from 1998 to 1999 and was a member of its board of di ...
(Argentina) (1974–1979)
* Dr. Giovanni Silini (Italy) (1980–1988)
* Dr. Burton Bennett (1988 acting; 1991–2000)
* Dr. Norman Gentner (2001–2004; 2005 acting)
* Dr. Malcolm Crick (2005–2018)
* Dr. Ferid Shannoun (2018 - 2019 acting)
* Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf
Contents of UNSCEAR 2008 report
UNSCEAR has published 20 major reports, latest is the summary 2010 (14 pages), last full report is 2008 report Vol.I and Vol.II with scientific annexes (A to E).
"UNSCEAR 2008 REPORT Vol.I"
UNSCEAR-2008
retrieved 2011-07-04 main report and 2 scientific annexes
:
Report to the General Assembly
(without scientific annexes; 24 pages)
::Includes short overviews of the materials and conclusions contained in the scientific annexes
:* Scientific Annex
::
Annex A
- "Medical radiation exposures" (202 pages)
::
Annex B
- "Exposures of the public and workers from various sources of radiation" (245 pages)
::: Tables (downloadable) "Public.xls" (A1 to A14), "Worker.xls" (A15 to A31)
"UNSCEAR 2008 REPORT Vol.II" 3 scientific annexes
::
Annex C
- "Radiation exposures in accidents" (49 pages)
::
Annex D
- "Health effects due to radiation from the Chernobyl accident" (179 pages)
::
Annex E
- "Effects of ionizing radiation on non-human biota" (97 pages)
See also
* Elagu V. Elaguppillai
* European Committee on Radiation Risk
The European Committee on Radiation Risk (ECRR) is an informal committee formed in 1997 following a meeting by the European Green Party at the European Parliament to review the Council of Europe's directive ''96/29Euratom'', issued in May of the pr ...
* Fukushima I nuclear accidents
The was a nuclear accident in 2011 at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in Ōkuma, Fukushima, Japan. The proximate cause of the disaster was the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami, which occurred on the afternoon of 11 March 2011 and ...
* International Commission on Radiological Protection
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) is an independent, international, non-governmental organization, with the mission to protect people, animals, and the environment from the harmful effects of ionising radiation. Its r ...
* Radiation protection
Radiation protection, also known as radiological protection, is defined by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as "The protection of people from harmful effects of exposure to ionizing radiation, and the means for achieving this". Expos ...
References
External links
UNSCEAR Website
*
{{authority control
Radiation health effects
Nuclear organizations
United Nations General Assembly subsidiary organs
Radiation protection organizations
United Nations organizations based in Vienna
1955 establishments in New York City