February 2020
UNSCEAR Newsletter #1 |Newsletter

Evaluating Science forInformed Decision Making
Mandate and visionand reports on the scientific basis that underpins radiation protection
at national and international levels. The vision is to maintain andenhance credible, independent and up-to-date evaluations andremain an authoritative United Nations source of information forpolicymakers, regulators, licensees, the research community andother stakeholders worldwide.

The United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of AtomicRadiation (UNSCEAR) was established by the General Assembly on 3December 1955 to undertake broad assessments of the sources ofexposure to ionizing radiation and the effects on human health andthe environment.
The Committee collects and analyses the latest scientific information,

Message from the Chair

Significant progress of work
Welcome to the first edition of the UNSCEAR
Newsletter. Having now completed my first six
months as Chair of the Committee, and after
our productive and positive sixty-sixth sessionin June 2019, it is with cautious optimism that I
look to the future. Since our session, the Bureau
has met six times and the secretariat and expert
groups have been very busy in progressing ourprogramme of work.
With regard to our sixty-sixth session, I had
the honour of presenting the Committee’s
Report to the Fourth Committee of the General
Assembly in New York in October 2019. The
presentation was well received, and with thesupport of the Australian Missions in bothVienna and New York, consultations on thedraft UNSCEAR resolution went smoothlyand it was approved by the Fourth Committeefor presentation to the General Assembly inDecember.
I would also like to thank Susana Habersack forher tireless dedication, hard work, unflagging
energy, optimism and support to UNSCEARfor over 30 years. The Committee and I wish
her the very best for her retirement, which I
hope, will still see some involvement with theCommittee’s work.
Finally, I extend my thanks to membersof the Bureau, staff of the secretariat,
and all the expert groups and delegationsof the Committee for their hard workand commitment in progressing theCommittee’s work.

Gillian HirthChair, UNSCEAR

Wishing you a very happy, healthy andprosperous 2020.

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Message from the Secretary

Focus on maintaining high quality
It has been an honour for me to join and leadthe UNSCEAR Secretariat since April 2019.
The Secretariat team remains as always
committed to providing the necessary support
to the Committee to continue its highly valued
work and to enhance its independent andauthoritative evaluations on the sources andeffects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Thisin the interest of radiation safety worldwide forthe benefit of current and future generations.
In the future we will also put emphasis on further
disseminating the identified needs for future
research and promoting the work and findingsof the Committee to Member States, policy
and decision makers, regulators, licensees,
the public and other relevant organizations.
As Secretary to the Committee, I will focus on
maintaining high quality and efficiency in our
extremely committed Secretariat to support theCommittee, and implementation of the United
Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
We will also increase outreach and transferof knowledge activities to young scientists
worldwide.
I would also like to take the opportunity to wish
our colleague Susana Habersack all the best for
her retirement after exceptionally long service
to the United Nations and the Committee. Her
warmth, sincerity and dedication will be missed.
This newsletter is only one of our initiatives toimplement the new outreach strategy for 20202024 as adopted by the Committee at its sixtysixth session.

Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf
Secretary, UNSCEAR

It will inform on the work of the Committee andkey activities of the Secretariat. I do hope youfind it useful and would welcome feedback andsuggestions for this new initiative.

Sixty-sixth annual session,
attended by 148 participantsfrom 25 member States,
8 international organizations and4 observer countries.

Highlights from thesixty-sixth UNSCEAR session(10-14 June 2019, Vienna)
The Committee elected a new Bureau (for the sixty-sixth and sixtyseventh sessions).
The Committee approved two documents as scientific annexes forpublication: Evaluations of Selected Health Effects and the Inferenceof Risk due to Radiation Exposure; and Lung Cancer from Exposure
to Radon.
It discussed four documents intended to be approved at theCommittee’s sixty-seventh session and to be published as scientificannexes to the UNSCEAR 2020 Report:

The Committee adopted a new strategy on public information andoutreach activities, for the 2020-2024 period. It also established anew ad hoc working group on sources and exposure.
In addition, the Secretariat established two expert groups for two
new projects endorsed by the Bureau:- Second Primary Cancer after Radiotherapy- Epidemiological Studies of Radiation and Cancer.
A new public exposure expert group was established in 2019, tocarry out the new evaluation of natural and man-made sources ofpublic exposure. A survey is to be launched in the third quarter of2020 on public exposure.

- Evaluation of Medical Exposure to Ionizing Radiation- Evaluation of Occupational Exposure to Ionizing Radiation- Biological Mechanisms Relevant for the Inference of Cancer
Risks from Low-dose Radiation- Levels and Effects of Radiation Exposure due to the Accident
at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station: Implicationsof Information Published since the 2013 UNSCEAR Report.

Members of the UNSCEAR Bureau from left to right:
Mr. Ferid Shannoun, Scientific Officer, UNSCEAR; Mr. Ingemar
Lund (Sweden), Rapporteur; Ms. Jing Chen (Canada), Vice-Chair;
Ms. Gillian Hirth (Australia), Chair; Ms. Anna Friedl (Germany) andMs. Jin Kyung Lee (Republic of Korea), Vice-Chairs;
Mr. Hans Vanmarcke (Belgium), former Chair;
Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf, Secretary, UNSCEAR.

2UNSCEAR News 1 •December 20193

February 2020
|Highlights from the presentation to theGeneral Assembly (24 October 2019, New York)The Chair, Gillian Hirth presented the Report (A/74/46) of the
sixty-sixth UNSCEAR session to the Fourth Committee of theGeneral Assembly in New York. She highlighted the mandate
and scope of work of the Committee, noting that it carefully
makes a distinction between objective science, which is within
the scope of its work, from more subjective protection andpolicy matters, which is not.

UNSCEAR Newsletter #1

From left to right: Ms. Borislava Batandjieva-Metcalf, Secretary UNSCEAR; Ms. Gillian Hirth, Chair UNSCEAR (Australia);
H.E. Mr. Mohammed Hussein Bahr Aluloom, Chair Fourth Committee (Iraq); Ms. Sangeeta Sharma, Secretary Fourth Committee.

could be assured and sustainable and lead to sufficient funding
for UNSCEAR.
Delegates attending the presentation also reiterated theirsupport and appreciation of the work of the Committee, and its
contribution to increasing and harmonizing knowledge on theeffects of exposure to ionizing radiation.
The draft resolution “Effects of Atomic Radiation” (A/RES/74/81)
was passed by the Fourth Committee.

She presented the main findings of the two scientific annexes
approved at the sixty-sixth session, and also briefed on futureplans and administrative issues. The Chair urged the General
Assembly to encourage voluntary financial contributions thatA press release covering the proceedings and a video recording
are available publicly.

Current States Members of UNSCEARThe Committee consists today of scientists from 27 States Members while in 1955 it started with 15.

The boundaries shown on this map do not imply official
endorsement or acceptance by the United Nations.

Participants and panellists at the UNSCEAR briefing toRepresentatives of Permanent Missions accredited to theUnited Nations (Vienna), held at the VIC on 9 December, 2019.

Did you know?
•Australia is chairing the sixty-sixth and sixty-seventh
UNSCEAR sessions for the sixth time.

•The first UNSCEAR Chair was Mr C. E. Eddy from
Australia (1956).

•For the first time, the Committee appointed a Bureau
with majority representation of female experts –the Chair and three Vice Chairs; the first female
Secretary of the Committee was also appointed
in 2019.

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Flash forward
Workshop on Data Collection for Medical, Occupational, Public Exposure (IRPA 15)
https://www.irpa2020.org/program/program_09_5.html?sMenu=pro1

11-15 May 2020, Seoul

Sixty-seventh UNSCEAR session
https://www.unscear.org/unscear/en/about_us/sessions.html

13-17 July 2020, Vienna

UNSCEAR National Contact Persons meeting(in cooperation with the IAEA)
https://www.iaea.org/events/international-conference-on-radiation-safety-2020

Nov 2020, ViennaFlashback to key events
Attendance at the twentieth IACRS Regular Meeting

1-3 July 2019, Geneva

Outreach at the sixty-third IAEA General Conference

16-20 September 2019, Vienna

Participation in the seventh annual meeting of Senior Representatives ofOrganizations in Formal Relations with ICRP

17 September 2019, Paris

Participation in the ninth International Symposium on Naturally Occurring
Radioactive Material

23-27 September 2019, Denver

Participation in the IAEA Technical Meeting on the Implications of the Radon
Dose Conversion Factors

1-4 October 2019, Vienna

Second Meeting of UNSCEAR Biological Mechanisms Study convened

2-4 October 2019, Vienna

Participation in article 31 Working Party meeting on Exposure to Natural
Sources of Ionizing radiation

10-11 October 2019, Luxembourg

UNSCEAR-IAEA meeting on Radioactive Discharges in Atmospheric andAquatic Environment

15-16 October 2019, Vienna

Second UNSCEAR Task Group meeting on Fukushima Follow-Up Project II(FFUP-II) convened

28-31 October 2019, Vienna

UNSCEAR Experts Group Meeting on Occupational Exposure Study

28-31 October 2019, Vienna

UNSCEAR Expert Group meeting on Epidemiological Studies of Radiation andCancer convened

3-5 December 2019, Rockville

Information Briefing to UN-accredited Permanent Missions in Vienna

9 December 2019, Vienna

Courtesy Visit of the Secretary of UNSCEAR to Japan

16-20 December 2019, JapanThe commitment of UNSCEAR to the Sustainable Development Goals
In developing its strategic directions, UNSCEAR contributes to theachievement of four Sustainable Development Goals, i.e. Goal 3 (GoodHealth and Well-being), Goal 14 (Life below Water), Goal 15 (Life on Land)
and Goal 17 (Partnerships for the Goals).
https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sustainable-development-goals/

UNSCEAR secretariat
UNITED NATIONSVienna International Centre
P.O. Box 500A-1400 Vienna, AUSTRIACREDITS
Concept and Editorial:
Jaya Mohan
Design: EPU/UNOV
Photos: UNSCEAR

Please send feedback andsuggestions to email:unscear@un.org