United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

Abbreviation	UNSCEAR
Formation	1955;70 years ago (1955)
Type	Scientific Committee
Legal status	Active
Headquarters	Vienna, Austria
Chair	Sarah Baatout (Belgium) [1]
Parent organization	United Nations
Website	unscear.org
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The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was set up by resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1955. The United Nations General Assembly has designated 31 United Nations Member States as members of the Scientific Committee. The organization 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 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), organizes the annual sessions and manages the preparation of documents for the committee's scrutiny.

Administration

Originally, in 1955, India and the Soviet Union wanted to add several neutral 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 the United Nations Office at Vienna in 1974.

The Secretaries of the Committee were:

• Dr. Ray K. Appleyard (UK) (1956–1961)
• Dr. Francesco Sella (Italy) (1961–1974)
• Dr. Dan Jacobo Beninson (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 (Bulgaria) (2019–2024)
• Mr. Tiberio Cabianca (2024– acting) ^[2]

Contents of UNSCEAR 2020/2021 report

UNSCEAR has published in 2022 its last full report, the UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Vol. I, Vol. II, Vol. III and Vol. IV with scientific annexes (A to D). ^[3]

• UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume I - The UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume I comprises the main text of the 2021 report to the General Assembly (A/76/46) and scientific annex A: Evaluation of medical exposure to ionizing radiation.

• UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume II - The UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume II comprises scientific annex B: Levels and effects of radiation exposure due to the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: implications of information published since the UNSCEAR 2013 Report.

• UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume III - The UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume III scientific annex C: Biological mechanisms relevant for the inference of cancer risks from low-dose and low-dose-rate radiation.

• UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume IV - The UNSCEAR 2020/2021 Report Volume IV comprises scientific annex D: Evaluation of occupational exposure to ionizing radiation.

Contents of UNSCEAR 2008 report

UNSCEAR has published 20 major reports. The latest is the 2010 Summary Report (14 pages), while the last full report was the 2008 Report Vol. I and Vol. II with scientific annexes (A to E).

"UNSCEAR 2008 REPORT Vol.I" ^[4] 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)

Type of radiation exposure

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) itemized type of exposures and reported exposure rate of each segment.

Type of radiation exposures

Public exposure
Natural Sources	Normal occurrences	Cosmic radiation
		Terrestrial radiation
	Enhanced sources	Metal mining and smelting
		Phosphate industry
		Coal mining and power production from coal
		Oil and gas drilling
		Rare earth and titanium dioxide industries
		Zirconium and ceramics industries
		Application of radium and thorium
		Other exposure situations
Man-made sources	Peaceful purposes	Nuclear power production
		Transport of nuclear and radioactive material
		Application other than nuclear power
	Military purposes	Nuclear tests
		Residues in the environment. Nuclear fallout
Historical situations
Exposure from accidents
Occupational radiation exposure
Natural Sources		Cosmic ray exposures of aircrew and space crew
		Exposures in extractive and processing industries
		Gas and oil extraction industries
		Radon exposure in workplaces other than mines
Man-made sources	Peaceful purposes	Nuclear power industries
		Medical uses of radiation
		Industrial uses of radiation
		Miscellaneous uses
	Military purposes	Other exposed workers
Source UNSCEAR 2008 Annex B retrieved 2011-7-4

See also

• European Committee on Radiation Risk
• International Commission on Radiological Protection
• Radiation protection

References

1. "UNSCEAR bureau".
2. "UNSCEAR secretariat". www.unscear.org. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
3. Scientific Reports retrieved 13 November 2024.
4. UNSCEAR-2008 retrieved 4 July 2011.

External links

• UNSCEAR Website
• UNSCEAR Publications
• Appleyard, Ray (2010). "The birth of UNSCEAR—the midwife's tale". Journal of Radiological Protection. 30 (3): 621–626. doi:10.1088/0952-4746/30/3/M01. PMID   20826894. S2CID   206023415.