U.S. and IAEA Chernobyl delegations assess radiation effects.

F OLLOWING THE APRIL 1986 explosion at the Chernobyl nuclear reactor, the Soviet government evacuated 135,000 people living in the immediate vicinity of the plant, mobilized workers to clean up the site and surrounding areas, and called on outside governments and organizations to render medical aid and help in the assessment of health effects related to radiation exposure. A series of contacts between the United States and the Soviet Union led to an agreement in 1988 to establish the U.S. U.S.S.R. Joint Coordinating Committee for Civilian Nuclear Reactor Safety (JCCCNRS). And, in 1989, the Soviets asked the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send an international delegation to the Soviet Union to evaluate the health of the people living in the area of the accident.