WORK OF UN SCIENTIFIC GROUP ON EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION HAS MADE IT WORLD AUTHORITY, FOURTH COMMITTEE IS TOLD

16 October 1996

Press Release
GA/SPD/87

WORK OF UN SCIENTIFIC GROUP ON EFFECTS OF ATOMIC RADIATION HAS MADE IT WORLD AUTHORITY, FOURTH COMMITTEE IS TOLD

19961016 Importance of Peaceful Application of Nuclear Power, Need For Vigilance against Harmful Consequences Stressed as Debate Begins

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) this morning began its discussion on the effects of atomic radiation, and the question of the relevant organs of the United Nations.

Introducing the report of the Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation and a related draft resolution, the representative of Germany said the unbiased nature and high quality of the Scientific Committee's work had made it a world authority on the subject.

The representative of the Marshall Islands said action was needed to help those who had suffered the long-term effects of atomic radiation. Severe birth defects, leukaemia and radiogenic diseases were among the legacy of the nuclear test explosions in his region during the period of Trusteeship.

The Committee's reports had served as a basis for the drawing up of national and international standards for protection against the harmful effects of radiation, according to the representative of Ireland speaking for the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Iceland and Norway.

The representative of Egypt said there were nuclear installations in the Middle East that were not subject to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspection. That affected the lives of millions in the region. The representative of Libya said the fact that the Israeli nuclear reactor at Dimona was still not subject to international inspection was a cause of concern.

The use of atomic energy for the generation of nuclear power, and its applications in medicine, industry and agriculture were vital for developing countries, said the representative of India.

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Protecting the environment and development were universal concerns, the representative of China told the Committee. Preventing damage from radioactive waste to the environment and to human health was part of her country's Agenda 21.

Belarus, Malaysia and Thailand were also added to the list of sponsors of the draft resolution on the effects of atomic radiation.

In other action today, the Committee decided orally to ask the General Assembly to remove from its agenda the question on the relevant organs of the United Nations.

The next meeting of the Committee will be announced in the Journal.

Committee Work Programme

The Fourth Committee (Special Political and Decolonization) met this morning to begin its consideration of the effects of atomic radiation. It is also expected to take up the question of the composition of the relevant organs of the United Nations.

The Committee had before it the report of the Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (document A/51/46), which considers the effects of ionizing radiation on plants and animals in the environment, drawn from reported observations in natural and contaminated environments, from experimental studies and from the Committee's assessments of radio-biological effects.

The Scientific Committee said new information from radio-biological and epidemiological studies was being reviewed, which would improve understanding of the effects of radiation and the underlying risks. The 1996 annual report of the Committee, Sources and Effects of Ionizing Radiation, with the scientific annex "Effects of radiation on the environment", will be issued as a United Nations sales publication to achieve wide distribution of the findings.

Also before the Committee is a draft resolution (document A/C.4/51/L.3) on the effects of atomic radiation, by which the General Assembly would request the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation to continue its work to increase knowledge of the levels, effects and risks of ionizing radiation from all sources, and report on the matter to the Assembly at its next session.

The Assembly would request that the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) continue providing support for the work of the Scientific Committee and for the dissemination of its findings to the Assembly, the scientific community and the public. It would invite Member States, the United Nations system and concerned non-governmental organizations to provide further data about doses, effects and risks for various sources of radiation, which would greatly help the Committee in the preparation of future reports.

Also by the text, the Assembly would commend the Scientific Committee for the valuable contribution it has been making during the past 41 years. It would endorse the intentions and plans of the Scientific Committee for its future activities of scientific review and assessment on behalf of the Assembly.

The 26-power draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Honduras, India, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Ukraine and United Kingdom.

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CORD MEIR-KLODT (Germany), introducing the report of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, said the concerns of countries had changed since the Scientific Committee was established in 1955 in response to concerns over fallout from nuclear tests. Expansion of nuclear energy generation and the wide use of radiation in other industries and medicine in the intervening years had generated new concerns. The Chernobyl accident remained vivid, and was a reminder of the need for guidance and information on radiation.

Sources of exposure to radiation were both natural and man-made, including isotope production, medical use of radiation and radio-nuclides, occupational exposure, nuclear power production and weapons testing and accidents. From studies of populations exposed to radiation and studies of radiobiological risk, risk coefficients were assessed. The present report considered the effect of ionizing radiation on plants and animals in the human environment. The Committee concluded that apart from severe accidents, no apparent damage had been observed in individual organisms and populations.

He said that to date the Committee had been remarkably free of political and social bias. The method of its operation and the high quality of its reports had made it a world authority. He hoped the draft resolution would be adopted by consensus. He said Belarus, Malaysia and Thailand had added their names to the list of cosponsors.

LAURENCE N. EDWARDS (Marshall Islands) said his country had been the site of more than 66 nuclear tests during the period of the United Nations Trusteeship of the Pacific Islands. The total yield of those weapons was the equivalent of more than seven times the size of the bomb exploded over Hiroshima. Since becoming a member of the United Nations, his country had spoken out about the human suffering, of the birth of what could only be called what he termed "monster babies" and of women who suffered in silence with irreparable damage to their reproductive health.

Testing of nuclear weapons in the Marshall Islands was not only of historical interest, he said. Evidence suggested the effects were long- lasting. There was a moral obligation to peoples who had silently and painfully suffered the effects of atomic radiation. He was encouraged by the work of the Scientific Committee thus far, but the reports were not informative enough. Similar work had been undertaken by other agencies. The Committee had failed in any effort to assist the victims of radiation illnesses. International cooperation was not complete.

He said his country had acted promptly in the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and urged its early implementation. He appealed to governments and organizations with expertise in the field to consider providing appropriate assistance to affected areas regarding cleanup and disposal of radioactive contaminants. The Special

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Committee should not just be an arena for discussion with no concrete results. It should reassess the usefulness of its report on the effects of radiation in light of a review of its mandate. He said he planned to introduce certain amendments to the draft resolution introduced by Germany.

NALIN SURIE (India) said the applications of atomic energy in medicine, industry, and agriculture were vital for improving standards of living, health and quality of life, particularly in developing countries. It was the technology that for the foreseeable time had the greatest potential to provide significant amounts of energy with minimal contribution of greenhouse gases.

The Scientific Committee had brought into discussion newly emerging concepts such as radio-adaptive response and biological defense mechanisms. There were dense populations in Kerala State, which was one of the world's highest natural background radiation area. Studies revealed that adults and newborn children did not have more cytogenetic abnormalities than those in normal background radiation areas of Kerala.

Safety was an important subject for research and development. India's Atomic Energy Regulatory Board met the prevailing international norms of regulatory practice. As one of the countries that signed the Convention on Nuclear Safety, India was now in the process of ratifying it.

GUILAN DONG (China) said issues concerning the environment and development were of universal concern. China pursued a unified policy for the advancement of the two. The work of the Scientific Committee, devoted to special study of atomic radiation, was of great importance. Preventing damage from radioactive waste to the environment and health was an important element in China's Agenda 21. China hoped the Scientific Committee would deepen its study of ionizing radiation and its effects, and would compile more relevant data to make the report more representative.

RONAN CORVIN (Ireland), for the European Union and Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Romania, Slovakia, Iceland and Norway, said the cooperation between the Scientific Committee on the Effects of Nuclear Radiation and other United Nations and international organizations was welcome and should continue.

He said the Committee's reports had served as a basis for the drawing up of national and international standards for protection against the harmful effects of radiation. The completion earlier this year of an annex in which the Scientific Committee set out its latest evaluations of the sources and effects of ionizing radiation on man and the environment was welcome. The Union looked forward to the Committee's next report, due in 1998/1999, which would deal with the effect of radiation on the environment, and was expected to include recently available information on the effects of the Chernobyl accident.

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The Special Session of the General Assembly, to be held in June 1997, would present an important opportunity to review Agenda 21 and assess progress in the implementation of relevant recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). The results of the Special Session should be included in the preparation of the Scientific Committee's next report.

HOSSAM ZAKI (Egypt) said there were increased risks from atomic radiation in areas near nuclear installations that were not subject to international inspection. In the Middle East that was an issue affecting the lives of millions of people, threatening the new climate in the region of international peace and cooperation. He called on all parties in the region possessing such facilities to place them under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). He said he was also pleased to cosponsor the draft resolution before the Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation.

HOSNI ALMUDIR (Libya) said the issue of nuclear radiation occupied the attention of all, given its effects on present and future generations and on the environment. He thanked the Scientific Committee for its assistance to scientific and other organizations in understanding the effects of atomic radiation.

He said the effects and the tragedies inflicted on the human environment had been seen. He welcomed the agreement of China and France to abide by agreements on nuclear weapons tests, and said he supported the end of all testing. The current draft of the CTBT did not eliminate all nuclear tests or specify a timetable for the elimination of nuclear arsenals.

On the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, he said that source of energy could be harnessed in the interest of science and human well-being. When used only for peaceful purposes, its benefits could be comparable to the effects for developing countries of technological advances in food production and health care. The peaceful uses of nuclear energy should be made available to the developing countries; they should not be deprived of this great human achievement.

He said his country had already spoken of the radiation from the Israeli nuclear reactor at Damona, which was a cause of concern for the region. The General Assembly had already called on Israel to submit to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections. He urged Israel to abide by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and to dispose of its nuclear weapons in accord with a specific timetable. Like other States, it should subject its system to international inspection to ensure it was for peaceful uses.

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HANS P.P.M. HORBACH (Netherlands) said he wanted to know why the Committee's agenda item on the relevant organs of the United Nations, which had been deferred in the past, was important. If there were no answer, it should be deleted from the agenda.

The Chairman, ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN (Lao People's Democratic Republic), asked for other speakers on that draft resolution.

PETRU DUMITRIU (Romania) supported the proposal of the Netherlands.

The Committee decided without a vote to adopt the recommendation of Netherlands and Romania, that the General Assembly remove the item on the relevant organs of the United Nations from the Special Committee's agenda.

EL HASSANE ZAHID (Morocco) asked for the deadline for submitting the draft resolution on Western Sahara to the Secretariat.

The Chairman, ALOUNKEO KITTIKHOUN told him the deadline was today.

Mr. ZAHID said a draft was now being circulated, but it was unclear whether or not that was the authentic version or not. The text disregarded the settlement plan, the cease-fire, and distorted the responsibilities of the United Nations by being so vague that any number of interpretations could be given, whereas the sole responsibilities of the United Nations were those delineated by the settlement plan.

He asked whether there would be consultations on the draft or a delegation to contact to discuss any amendments required to arrive at a consensus text, as last year's had been. A consensus text, though desired, would prove enormously difficult as the text stood now. He appealed to the Chairman's good offices to see whether this could be considered.

The CHAIRMAN said the draft resolution on Western Sahara had not been submitted officially to the Secretariat. By the time the draft was submitted, there would still be time for the Committee's comments.

Mr. ZAHID said he regretted that Morocco had not been approached by the draft's co-sponsors, particularly since the issue of the Sahara was of vital importance to the entire nation of Morocco. If all Security Council resolutions were included in the draft resolution and the responsibilities of the United Nations and the settlement correctly defined, then Morocco could become a co-sponsor. Morocco regretted the lack of transparency in dealing with the draft resolution.

The CHAIRMAN stated that he welcomed every delegation and was ready to provide assistance for any delegations that so required.

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