[en] During the last few years the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) has undertaken a broad review of the sources and effects of ionizing radiation. The results of this work have been issued in a series of publications: the UNSCEAR 1993 Report with nine scientific annexes, the UNSCEAR 1994 Report with two scientific annexes and the present UNSCEAR 1996 Report with one scientific annex, ''Effects of radiation on the environment''. These three publications from a series of reports entitled Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, which together inform the General Assembly and the scientific and world community of the Committee's latest findings and evaluations. The Committee considers in this report the effects of ionizing radiation on plants and animals in the environment. These effects have not previously been addressed directly by the Committee. The emphasis of past assessments has been on determining the effects of radiation on human health. With the increasing interest around the world in nurturing the environment and concerns about possible detrimental effects of radiation, the time is appropriate for the Committee to provide a summary of the effects of radiation on the environment. Refs, figs, tabs