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Envlronmmt International, VoL 20, No. 5, pp. 681-683, 1994 Copyxight 01994 BlJevier Science Lul

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UNSCEAR, HISTORICAL AND CURRENT PERSPECTIVES

Fred A. Mettler, Jr. Department of Radiology, University of New Mexico, School of Medicine, Albuquerque, NM 87106 USA

EI 9403-143 M (Received 8 March 1994; accepted 8 April 1994)

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) is one of the major organizations providing information on occupational, medical, natural radiation, and the associated health risks. The Committee was formed in 1955 and definitive reports have been published in 1958, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1969, 1972, 1977, 1982, 1986, and 1993. John Harley was the longest serving member. The origin of this committee is described and the review processes for data acquisition and preparation of their reports.

INTRODUCTION

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation is quite well known by its acronym, UNSCEAR, and by the periodic scien- tific reports on radiation sources and effects. The origins, historical progression, logistics, or inner work- ings of the Committee are not widely understood.

In the late 1940's and early 1950's, testing of atomic weapons raised concern about local and global fallout and its potential effects on mankind. As a result, UNSCEAR was established by Resolution 913 of the United Nations General Assembly on Decem- ber 3, 1955. The terms of reference mandate that the committee receive, assemble, and compile reports and information from member states and other or- ganizations relative to observed levels of ionizing radiation, scientific observations, and experiments relative to the effects of ionizing radiation on man

This paper is dedicated to the memory of John H. Harley.

and his environment. In these early days, John Harley was an integral part of UNSCEAR in view of his experience with fallout gained as Director of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission's Health and Safety Laboratory.

Originally, the member states of UNSCEAR in- cluded Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Czechoslovakia, Egypt, France, India, Japan, Mexico, Sweden, Soviet Union (USSR), United Kingdom, and the United States. At the 24th session of the commit- tee, the Federal Republic of Germany, Indonesia, Peru, Poland, and Sudan were added. More recently, China has been added; the Slovak Republic has replaced Czechoslovakia; and the Russian Federation has re- placed the USSR.

All delegations have a representative, an alter- nate, and advisors. The U.S. representative is named by the U.S. State Department. Openings are filled based upon nominations from individuals, organiza- tions, and federal agencies. Representatives have been Shields Warren, Richard Chamberlin, Robert Moseley, and, currently, Fred Mettler. The alternate

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representative and advisors are nominated by the representative and confirmed by the State Depart- ment. These appointments are typically made on an annual basis and the constitution of the delegation can vary depending upon the nature of the work in which the committee is engaged. The longest serving member of the U.S. delegation was John Harley, who served as an advisor for 38 years from 1956 to 1993. John also served as the U.S. speaker for the physical subgroup of UNSCEAR for most of those years. Cur- rently, the Alternate U.S. Representative is Warren Sinclair and the advisors are Lynn Anspaugh, John Boice, Naomi Harley, Charles Meinhold, Paul Selby, and Edward Webster. Every two years, a Chairman of the UNSCEAR committee is elected to preside over the plenary session. By common agreement, the Chairman is never chosen from a country that has nuclear weapons (a process which becomes more difficult all the time).

The UNSCEAR meetings were originally held at the United Nations headquarters in New York but were subsequently transferred to Vienna. They are currently held once a year, for either one or two weeks at the Vienna International Center which is the main location for logistical operations of the United Nations. The UNSCEAR office is composed of a scientific secretary and two logistical support staff. The budget comes through the United Nations En- vironmental Programme (UNEP) and is about $400 000 annually. This is used to pay consultants who write documents, travel of representatives from each mem- ber state, printing costs, translating, and the staff itself. Considering the quality and comprehensive na- ture of the reports generated, this has to be one of the all time great bargains in the scientific world.

Comprehensive UNSCEAR Reports are generated about every four or five years. Occasionally, smaller more directed documents are issued. The comprehen- sive reports usually consist of a summary for the U.N. General Assembly and a series of annexes. The topics for the annexes are chosen by the committee at the beginning of a report cycle. Perennial favorites are updating of the sources of radiation particularly natural, manmade, and medical. Other reports that concern the effects of radiation have included epi. demiological reviews of carcinogenesis, effects of dose and dose rate, and deterministic effects related to local and whole body radiation, as well as in-utero and genetic effects.

After a topic is selected for study, the Secretariat chooses a consultant to write the report. The next year, the document is presented and reviewed in detail and changes are suggested by the delegations of the

member states. The reports are typically reviewed in either a physical or biological subgroup. The consult- ant then rewrites the document and presents it again the next year at which time it is again critically reviewed. This review process continues typically for four years. At the end, the Committee has a docu- ment that it feels is a high quality scientific document that is relevant and that represents a worldwide scien- tific consensus. In addition, the Committee will syn- thesize several documents to present risk estimates for various effects. These are then taken by organizations such as the International Commission of Radiological Protection and used as a basis for recommendation of limits.

Historically, the initial UNSCEAR reports focused on fallout. The radiation risks were felt to be primari- ly genetic, although, there was some limited data on leukemia risk from Hiroshima and Nagasaki. By the late 1960s and early 1970s, general risk estimates for solid tumors began to appear (UNSCEAR 1972). In the 1977 report (UNSCEAR 1977), there were risk estimates related to a few specific tumor types. In the 1988 report (UNSCEAR 1988), this list was expanded to include a larger number of site specific cancers and was updated to cover lifetime projection models and revised dosimetry at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The increase in risk estimates for cancer in 1988 and the review of in-utero effects by UNSCEAR were among the reasons that the ICRP reduced the recom- mended limits for occupational and public exposure in 1990 (ICRP 1990).

Sporadically, there have been questions about the continued value of UNSCEAR. Most member states have agreed that there is great value to a continuous, dispassionate, critical review and summary on a world-wide basis of the large body of technical litera- ture generated by radiation researches. In addition, the hemispheric fallout from Chernobyl pointed out the need for authoritative information to be supplied to many smaller countries that have limited scientific expertise.

Another question was recently raised as to whether the committee should be transferred from the United Nations to the International Atomic Energy Agency. This, fortunately, was not done. One problem with such a transfer is the IAEA is charged to promote the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. They are therefore regarded as being an advocate of radiation use and under these auspices the UNSCEAR reports would not be generally regarded as being unbiased. In addi- tion, the IAEA mandate does not cover natural or medical sources of radiation nor of detrimental ef- fects on humans.

UNSCEAR: perspectives 683

Where will UNSCEAR go in the future? Certainly there will be a need for ongoing critical review of data. At the moment, there is a large body of variable quality data coming from the former Soviet Union. This will need to be analyzed and compared with other data sources. There is an interest in future documents such as combined effects of radiation with other agents and on the concept of adaptive response (or hormesis). I am sure that I can speak for the U.S. delegation and the entire UNSCEAR committee in saying that we will miss the incisive comments, dry humor, humility, and companionship of John Harley.

REFERENCES

UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation). Ionizing radiation: levels and efects, a report of the UNSCEAR to the General Assembly. with an- nexes; 1972. Vienna, Austria: United Nations Printing Office.

UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation). Sources and effects of ionizing radia- tion. UNSCEAR report to the General Assembly, with annexs; 1977. Vienna, Austria: United Nations Printing Office.

UNSCEAR (United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation).Sources, effects and risks of ionizing radiation. UNSCEAR report to the General Assembly, with annexes; 1988. Vienna, Austria: United Nations Printing Office

ICRP (International Commission on Radiological Protection). 1990 recommendations of the ICRE Annals of the ICRP, Vol. 21, No. 1-3, ICRP Publication #60. Oxford/New York: Pergamon Press; 1991.