Health and environmental consequences of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident
An assessment of the impact of the Chernobyl accident on the Northern Hemisphere is presented in this report. It relies heavily on the USSR report presented to the International Atomic Energy Agency. There are gaps in present knowledge and, in some areas, uncertainties may never be completely resolved. What is clearly apparent at this time, however, is that on a large regional scale, the estimates of collective dose have a reasonable level of confidence. The associated potential health impacts have also been projected, together with a range of estimates. A brief description of the tragic consequences to the heroic firefighting and rescue personnel is also provided, and valuable insights regarding acute exposures are developed. Much early effort was expended on estimation of the source term, especially for radiocesium and radioiodine. Several independent analyses are presented that are in reasonable agreement. Atmospheric transport of the radioactive material and its subsequent deposition provide a documented ''umbrella'' of the distributions that form the basic integration of this assessment. The estimates of radiological doses to selected Northern Hemisphere populations were employed in developing an integrated risk assessment of potential latent health effects using the most current models, parameters and risk coefficients. The estimates presented include lower- and upper-bound values, as well as the ''best'' or most realistic ranges. While many scientists believe that minuscule increases in risks to large populations are impossible to prove, it is essential that the magnitude of these possible risks be presented, if only to put an upper limit on the situation. It must be emphasized that while these are ''potential'' health effects, the values presented represent our best current assessment of the health and environmental detriment caused by the Chernobyl accident. 72 refs., 37 figs., 91 tabs.
- Research Organization:
- Committee on the Assessment of Health Consequences in Exposed Populations, Washington, DC (USA). Interlaboratory Task Group on Health and Environmental Aspects of the Soviet Nuclear Accident
- OSTI ID:
- 6329192
- Report Number(s):
- DOE/ER-0332; ON: DE87013578; TRN: 87-030517
- Resource Relation:
- Other Information: Portions of this document are illegible in microfiche products. Original copy available until stock is exhausted
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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