UNSCEAR - United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation

UNSCEAR was established by the General Assembly of the United Nations in 1955. Its mandate in the United Nations system is to assess and report levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Governments and organizations throughout the world rely on the Committee's estimates as the scientific basis for evaluating radiation risk, establishing radiation protection and safety standards, and regulating radiation sources.

Web site: http://www.unscear.org/

Publications

UNSCEAR produces detailed reports to the United Nations General Assembly. The reports review exposures from natural radiation sources, from nuclear power production and nuclear tests, exposures from medical radiation diagnosis and treatment, and from occupational exposure to radiation. They include also detailed studies on cancer induced by radiation, on the mechanisms of the development of cancer and the body's repair systems against it, further on the risks of hereditary diseases induced by exposure to radiation, and on the combined effects of radiation and other (for instance chemical) agents. Important consideration is also given to the assessment of the radiological consequences of accidents, such as the Chernobyl accident.