Nuclear and radiation safety: Guidance for emergency response

involving radioactive materials in recent years have had consequences for the health of the general public. These have ranged from the major accident at Chernobyl in 1986 to accidental dispersion of medical and industrial radioactive sources. Responses to these accidents differed between countries. It later became apparent that some protective actions were taken that, in the most extreme cases, may have worsened, rather than improved, the well-being of the populations involved and their environmental surroundings. In other cases, the actions led to large but unproductive expenditures of national resources. Further, where the accident involved exposure of populations across national boundaries, many instances occurred of contradictory national responses either side of the national borders. During the past decade considerable progress has been made in developing internationally recognized principles for decisions on protective measures following accidents involving radioactive materials, and in providing quantitative guidance for applying these principles. Efforts have involved the IAEA, the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), Commission of the European Communities (CEC), and Nuclear Energy Agency of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD/NEA).