Environmental Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident and their Remediation: Twenty Years of Experience - Report of the UN Chernobyl Forum Expert Group `Environment`

The explosion on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant and the consequent reactor fire resulted in an unprecedented release of radioactive material from a nuclear reactor and adverse consequences for the public and the environment. Controversy still surrounds the real impact of the disaster. Therefore the IAEA, in cooperation with FAO, UNDP, UNEP, UNOHA, UNSCEAR, WHO and the World Bank, as well as Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, established the Chernobyl Forum in 2003. The mission of the Forum was to generate “authoritative consensual statements” on the environmental consequences and health effects attributable to radiation exposure arising from the accident, as well as to provide advice on environmental remediation and special health care programmes, and make suggestions for the future. This report presents the findings and recommendations of the Chernobyl Forum concerning the environmental effects of the Chernobyl accident.