History of the United Nations
and Chernobyl
Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, April 26, 1986- the
routine 20-second shut down of the system seemed to be another test of
the electrical equipment. But seven seconds later, a surge created a
chemical explosion that released nearly 520 dangerous radionuclides
into the atmosphere. The force of the explosion spread contamination
over large parts of the Soviet Union, now the territories of Belarus,
Ukraine and Russia. According to official reports,
thirty-one people died immediately and 600,000 “liquidators,” involved
in fire fighting and clean-up operations, were exposed to the high
doses of radiation. Based on the official reports, near 8,400,000
people in Belarus, Ukraine and Russia were exposed to the radiation,
which is more than the population of Austria. About 155,000 sq. km of
territories in the three countries were contaminated, which is almost
half of the total territory of Italy. Agricultural areas covering
nearly 52,000 sq. km, which is more than the size of Denmark, were
contaminated with cesium-137 and strontium-90, with 30-year and 28-year
half-lives respectively. Nearly 404,000 people were resettled but
millions continued to live in an environment where continued residual
exposure created a range of adverse effects.
No reports were released until the
third day after the Chernobyl explosion. Then, Swedish authorities
correlated a map of enhanced radiation levels in Europe with wind
direction and announced to the world that a nuclear accident had
occurred somewhere in the Soviet Union. Before Sweden’s announcement,
the Soviet authorities were conducting emergency fire fighting and
clean-up operations but had chosen not report to the accident or its
scale in full. No established legitimate authority was able to
immediately address the situation and provide answers for questions
such as: Is it safe to leave the house? Is it safe to drink water? Is
it safe to eat local produce? Communicating protective measures early
would also have most likely enabled the population to escape exposure
to some radionuclides, such as iodine 131, which are known to cause
thyroid cancer. Early evacuation would have helped people avoid the
area when iodine 131 is most dangerous, 8-16 days after release.
During the first four years after
the Chernobyl accident the Soviet authorities decided to largely deal
with the consequences of the explosion at a national level. Without
Soviet support, the United Nations and its partners sought ways to
provide emergency support, which included assessing the nuclear safety
and environmental conditions of the contaminated area, and diagnose the
various medical conditions that resulted from the accident. The UN also
focused on raising the awareness of the area’s inhabitants, teaching
them how to protect themselves from radionuclides found in the
environment and agricultural products.
Many count the year 1990 as a
crucial point in the United Nations involvement in the Chernobyl
recovery. The Soviet Government acknowledged the need for international
assistance. As a result, the General Assembly adopted Resolution
45/190, which called for “international cooperation to address and
mitigate the consequences at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant”. This
Resolution also entrusted one of the Under-Secretary-General with the
task of coordinating the Chernobyl co-operation and called for the
formation of an Inter-Agency Task Force. The Quadripartite Coordination
Committee, which consists of ministers from Belarus, Ukraine, Russia,
as well as the United Nations Chernobyl Coordinator, became part of the
coordination mechanism at the ministerial level. In 1992, a year after
the Task Force was established, the Department of Humanitarian Affairs,
which came to be called the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs in 1997, began to coordinate international cooperation on
Chernobyl. To expedite financial contributions towards the Chernobyl
activities, the Chernobyl Trust Fund was established in 1991 under the
management of OCHA. OCHA began to manage a range of diverse tasks and
responsibilities from strategy formulation and promotion to resources
mobilization, advocacy and channeling donors’ contributions. Since
1986, the United Nations organizations and major Non-Government
Organizations and Foundations have launched more than 230 different
research and assistance projects in the fields of: health, nuclear
safety, including the construction of the
Shelter, socio-psychological
rehabilitation, economic rehabilitation, environment and production of
clean foods and information.
Over time it has become clear that the task of
environmental and health recovery cannot be separated from the task of
development. In 2001, UNDP, and its regional director for the three
affected countries (Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), became part of the
coordination mechanism for Chernobyl cooperation. In the following
year, the United Nations announced a shift in strategy, with a new
focus on long-term developmental approach, as opposed to emergency
humanitarian assistance.
In order to clarify remaining issues, and maintain
worldwide attention on Chernobyl, the United Nations has undertaken a
number of new initiatives. The Swiss-funded Chernobyl website
Chernobyl.info serves as an independent forum on Chernobyl. The
Chernobyl Forum, an initiative of IAEA, is aimed at generating
consensus on a range of disputed issues, such as the health effects of
the accident, and the necessity of new Chernobyl research. The
ICRIN
(International Chernobyl Research and Information Network), initiative
launched by OCHA and SDC, is aimed at increasing cooperation with the
Chernobyl Forum, and helps compile, disseminate and commission new
research on Chernobyl.
Today many issues still require clarification. Some
scientists of the three countries claim that the actual extent of
contamination was 3-4 times greater due to new estimates that indicate
that 65-80 percent of the radionuclides from Chernobyl reactor were
released into the environment, not 3.5%. The official zone approach,
which evaluated the territory of contamination and individual doses
according to the density of radionuclide deposition, has been widely
criticized and is under review. In addition, nobody can predict the
genetic and other long- term health effects of the accident.
The consequences of Chernobyl extend far into the
future. New research is needed in order to clarify the effects of
nuclear contamination over a 10-20 year period. New research based in
up-to-date scientific knowledge could provide information that can help
to treat Chernobyl-related diseases and assist in agricultural
development in contaminated environments. While in 1991 the affected
nations requested nearly $ 646 million for 131 projects, they received
only $8 million. In 1997, $90 million was requested for 60 projects.
Only $1.5 million was pledged. Clearly, there is still a great deal of
work that needs to be done in the Chernobyl affected region.
Contributions do not yet meet needs.
