UN Task Force Begins Discussions On Fukushima Environmental Impact
Written by NucNet
Tuesday, 27 September 2011
Members of a United Nations task force looking into the health and environmental impact of the accident earlier this year at the Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan today began discussions on how to proceed with their assessment.
“This is basically a management meeting about how we assess the risks and effects,” Wolfgang Weiss, chair of the UN scientific committee on the effects of atomic radiation (UNSCEAR), said in a statement issued in Vienna.
The Fukushima Assessment Task Force, which Mr Weiss chairs, will look at a range of issues, including how much radioactive material was released, how the accident compares with other similar incidents such as Chernobyl, the effects on the environment and on foodstuffs, and the likely impact on human health.
As well as assessing the effects in Japan from the accident, the study will also evaluate its effects in other countries.
The task force is expected to provide preliminary findings to UNSCEAR’s annual session in May 2012 in an interim report, following which a final report will be submitted to the UN General Assembly in 2013.
UNSCEAR is a committee of scientists from 21 IAEA member states. It carries out regular evaluations of the levels of exposure from all sources of ionising radiation and the associated health and environmental effects.
