Radiological conditions in the Dnieper River Basin. Assessment by an international expert team and recommendations for an action plan

Various locations around the world have been affected by radioactive residues, sometimes from peaceful activities, such as the mining and milling of uranium ores, and sometimes from military activities, such as nuclear weapon testing. In some cases, governments have considered it to be socially and politically desirable to obtain independent expert opinions on the radiological conditions caused by the residues. As a result, the IAEA has been requested by the governments of a number of Member States to provide assistance in this context. The assistance has been provided by the IAEA under its statutory obligation 'to establish... standards of safety for protection of health... and to provide for the application of these standards... at the request of a State'. In 1986, in the Dnieper River basin, a densely populated area in the middle of eastern Europe, the most severe nuclear accident in human history happened at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine. The accident destroyed a high power nuclear reactor and resulted in the release of large amounts of radionuclides into the environment. In other areas of Ukraine adjacent to the middle reaches of the Dnieper River, uranium mining and milling facilities have been in operation since 1948, which have left substantial tailings containing naturally occurring radioactive material. These events resulted in the contamination of substantial areas with radioactive residues, and some associated health effects. More questions arose regarding the possible radiological consequences of the radioactive residues for local populations and the environment, and the governments of the affected States were obliged to respond. After the Ministers of the Environment of the three riparian countries (i.e. Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine) expressed in June 1996 their intention to develop an international programme for the environmental rehabilitation of the Dnieper River basin, the first transboundary diagnostic analysis (TDA) was developed in 1997. In assessing the Dnieper River basin, the United Nations Development Programme - Global Environment Facility (UNDP-GEF) identified radioactive contamination as one of the significant issues. Subsequently, the IAEA was requested to contribute its expertise in radiation and environmental protection to a more detailed analysis involving a revision of the TDA and preparation of a strategic action plan. The present project was started in 2001 within the framework of the Dnieper Basin Environmental Programme (DBEP) under the UNDP-GEF. The project was executed by the IAEA as Regional Technical Cooperation Project RER/9/072, Preparation of Strategic Action Plan (SAP) for the Dnieper River Basin and Development of SAP Implementation Mechanism. The international expert team for this study assembled by the IAEA included scientists from Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine familiar with radioactive contamination in the Dnieper River basin and experienced in radiological assessments. This report includes the findings and conclusions of the international expert team and recommendations to the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine