UNSCEAR UNITED NATIONS SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE ON THE EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION
Briefing on relevant UNSCEAR and UNEP activities
1st meeting of the Coordination Group on Radiation Protection of the Environment
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Notes
1. The presentation is the property of the UNSCEAR secretariat and a permission for reuse of any material must be sought from the UNSCEAR secretariat, and;
2. The presentation should not be seen as an endorsement or recommendation on the part of the United Nations.
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UNSCEAR Mandate
• Established by General Assembly resolution in 1955• Renewed annually (last in A/RES/59/114)• Assess levels, effects & risks of ionizing radiation• Disseminate findings to Assembly, scientific community & public• Scientists from 21 UN Member States• Other States & organizations provide relevant data• Holds annual sessions in Vienna• UNEP arranges secretariat and provides support
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Member States on UNSCEAR
• Argentina• Brazil• Mexico• Peru• Australia• China• India• Indonesia• Japan• Canada• USA
• Egypt• Sudan• Belgium• France• Germany• Poland• Russia• Slovakia• Sweden• UK
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Management
reports tomandate
requests
provide fundingconvenesessions
expertsengages
Representatives of 21 countriesApprox. 110 delegatesMeet annually in Vienna
1 professional, 2 secretarial +$140,000 annual operating budget
General Assembly
UNSCEAR
UNSCEAR secretariat
UNEP
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Functions
• Early warning
• Scientific information for policy-makers
• Global knowledge management
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Protection standards
data
UN Member States, organizations & NGOs
General Assembly, public & scientific community
findings
levels
Member States
development implementation
UNSCEAR- Levels, effects, risks- Scientific independence
ICRP- Protection- Philosophy - Principles & units
effectsrisks
FAO, IAEA, ILO, WHO- Protection- Standards
recommendations
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Last UNSCEAR reports (2000/1)
SOURCES EFFECTS HEREDITARY EFFECTS
Issued every 5-6 years
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Sources reviewed
•• PublicPublic• Workers• Patients
•• NaturalNatural•• ManMan--mademade
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Sources of man-made public exposure
• Nuclear weapons production and testing• Nuclear power production
– Mining & fuel manufacture– Reactor operation– Waste
• Other exposures– Radioisotope production and use– Research reactors– Accidents– Consumer products– Innovative uses– Enhanced use of naturally occurring material
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Expected in 2006
• Radon levels and effects
• Epidemiology of radiation and cancer
• Epidemiology of non-cancer effects
• Genome and cellular effects
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Envisage for 2007
• Medical exposures
• Public & worker exposures (inc. accidents)
• Effects on immune system
• Effects on non-human biota
• Chernobyl
• Comprehensive summary report
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UNSCEAR report 1996
• Landmark report• Scientific Annex:• Effects of radiation on
the environment
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Role of UNEP
• Established in 1972 – HQ in Nairobi, Kenya• Voice for the environment within UN system• Acts as catalyst, advocate, educator and facilitator to promote wise use and
sustainable development of global environment • Wide range of partners, inc. UN bodies, international organizations, national
governments, NGOs, private sector & civil society • Work encompasses: • Assessing global, regional and national environmental conditions and trends • Developing international and national environmental instruments • Facilitating transfer of knowledge and technology for sustainable development • Hosts several environmental convention secretariats including Ozone
Secretariat and a family of chemicals-related agreements, including the Basel Convention on the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes and the recently negotiated Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants
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UNEP Milestones
• 1972 - UN Conference on Human Environment recommends creation of UN Environmental Organisation
• 1972 - UNEP created by UN General Assembly • 1985 - Vienna Convention for Protection of Ozone Layer • 1987 - Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete Ozone Layer • 1988 - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) • 1989 - Basel Convention on Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes • 1995 - Global Programme of Action (GPA) launched to protect marine
environment from land-based sources of pollution • 2000 - Malmö Declaration - first Global Ministerial Forum on Environment calls
for strengthened international environmental governance • 2000 - Millennium Declaration - Environmental Sustainability included as one of
eight Millennium Development Goals • 2001 - Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs)
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Division of Early Warning, UNEP
• Promotes availability of scientific information needed by decision makers for better environmental management
• Assesses environmental conditions and threats to alert policy makers, and to facilitate development of reduction strategies
• Identifies emerging issues
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Global Environment Outlook
•Integrating Environment and Development: 1972-2002
•State of Environment and Policy Retrospective: 1972-2002
•Human Vulnerability to Environmental Change
•Outlook 2002-2032
•Options for Action
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UNSCEAR Strengths
• Highly respected by scientific community• More efficient to develop global consensus
through sharing knowledge and informationthan national or regional initiatives
• Findings underpin programmes of governments & other international organizations on protection
• UNSCEAR secretariat represents asset to UNEP on radiation exposures, effects and trends
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Intentions
• Improve links between UNEP HQ and UNSCEAR– Compatible methods (DEWA & UNSCEAR)– Input to GEO and annual reports– Coordinate programme budget issues
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Contact details
Malcolm Crick
Secretary of UNSCEARVienna International Centre
Wagramerstrasse 5P O Box 500
A-1400 Wien, AUSTRIA
Tel: +43-1-26060-4330Fax: +43-1-26060-7-4330
Email: [email protected]: www.unscear.org
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