Proceedings of an international conference, jointly sponsored by the European Commission, IAEA and WHO, and held in co-operation with UNDHA, UNESCO, UNEP, UNSCEAR, FAO and OECD/NEA, Vienna, 8-12 April 1996. Two major objectives were to reach agreement on established scientific facts and to clarify their interpretation in order to promote comprehension of the consequences of the Chernobyl accident and to help dispel misapprehensions. Background papers were prepared by teams of scientists from around the world who collaborated to ascertain and present the current state of knowledge on the health and environmental consequences of the accident. Nuclear safety aspects and the accident's social and economic impact were also considered, as well as the conclusions drawn at related conferences and in other national and international projects. The conference was attended by more than 800 experts in the field of radiation protection and nuclear safety, including medical, environmental and engineering specialists. The conference did much to achieve a broad consensus on the accident's consequences and to consolidate a common understanding of their nature and magnitude. In particular, the results of the conference will assist those countries most affected by the consequences in developing well informed and balanced policies for their alleviation. The proceedings contain a summary of the conference results and the texts of oral presentations and discussions, while an IAEA technical document (TECDOC) will reproduce material from 181 poster presentations as well as the List of Participants.
Contents: Summary of the conference results; Opening session; Briefing seminar: Updating sessions; Keynote presentations. Technical symposium: Topical session 1: Clinically observed effects; Topical session 2: Thyroid effects; Topical session 3: Long term health effects; Topical session 4: Other health related effects: Psychological consequences, stress, anxiety; Topical session 5: Consequences for the environment; Topical session 6: Social, economic, institutional and political impact; Topical session 7: Nuclear safety remedial measures; Topical session 8: The consequences in perspective: Prognosis for the future; Concluding session of the technical symposium; Panel discussion; Closing session.