CONSULTING

Figure 29: Cumulative I-131 Concentrations in Air Over Europe in May 1986
(in Bq*d/m³) 244
Source: C. Seidel et al., 2012 245
Populations Affected
According to the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation
(UNSCEAR) 246 , over six million people still live in contaminated areas of Belarus, Russia and
Ukraine. Over half a million clean-up workers were exposed to high doses at an average of 120 mSv
(see Table 6).
244 Bq*d/m³ = becquerels x days per cubic metre of air
245 Claudia Seidel et al, “25 Jahre Tschernobyl—Kurzfassung ; Gesundheitliche Folgen in Oberösterreich
25 Jahre nach Tschernobyl – neue Betrachtungen hinsichtlich der Inhalations- und Ingestionsdosis durch
131I und 90 Sr”, Low Level Counting Labor Arsenal, University of Natural Resources and Applied Life Sciences
of Vienna, (in German), 15 March 2016, see
http://www.atomfreie.eu/fileadmin/Daten/Studiathek/2012_03_15_Tschernobylstudie_Kurzfassung_2012.pdf,
accessed 7 July 2016.
246 UNSCEAR, “2008 Report to the General Assembly, with scientific annexes—Annex D Health Effects Due
to the Chernobyl Nuclear Accident”, United Nations, New York. Note: Although UNSCEAR’s publication date
was stated as 2008, the report was not released until 2011.
Mycle Schneider, Antony Froggatt et al. 80 World Nuclear Industry Status Report 2016