Recovery operations after the Chernobyl accident: the intervention criteria of the USSR's national commission on radiation protection

An informal meeting was arranged by the Secretariat of the International Atomic Energy Agency to discuss the policy on intervention criteria recommended by the USSR's National Commission on Radiation Protection (NKRZ). The paper presents a summary of the criteria presented and the discussions and conclusions of the meeting. The meeting took place in Vienna on 12 May 1989 and was attended by nearly 100 experts from 20 countries. Many of the experts were participating in the meeting of the Untied Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) being held the same week. The meeting dealt with possible problems arising from long term contamination by radioactive substances after major radiation accidents in general, with particular consideration of the post-Chernobyl situation. The NKRZ's Chairman informed the participants of the contamination situation after the Chernobyl accident, of the remedial actions which had been taken, and of the intervention criteria that had been used and recommended for the future. Special attention was given to the problems remaining after the first years, during which the remedial actions were consistent with a globally accepted policy. There was little previous experience, however, of the long term effects of a nuclear accident causing large contamination. The policy proposed by NKRZ is to limit the total dose received from the accident by individuals in the critical groups in the USSR to 350 mSv over their lifetimes; such a level met with general acceptance by the participants. It was agreed, however, that the dose limitation for such purposes would have to be decided by national authorities, because it would depend on the local situation and on the severity of the accident. (author). 1 fig., 14 tabs