EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
ENVIRONMENT POLICIES
EVOLUTION
Part 6
António Gonçalves Henriques
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
•
In 1986 the most serious accident in nuclear history changed the lives of many.
Massive amounts of radioactive
materials were released into the
environment resulting in a radioactive
cloud that spread over much of
Europe.
•
The Chernobyl (V.I. Lenin Nuclear
Power Station) is located in Ukraine,
20km south of the border with
Belarus.
•
At the time of the accident, the plant
had four working reactors, each
capable of producing 1,000 MW of
electric power (3.2 GW of thermal
power).
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
The accident occurred in the early morning of 26 April 1986 when operators ran a test
on an electric control system of unit 4.
•
The accident happened because of a combination of basic engineering deficiencies in
the reactor and faulty actions of the operators. The safety systems had been switched
off, and the reactor was being operated under improper, unstable conditions, a
situation which allowed an uncontrollable power surge to occur. This power surge
caused the nuclear fuel to overheat and led to a series of steam explosions that severely
damaged the reactor building and completely destroyed the unit 4 reactor.
•
The explosions started numerous fires on the roofs of the reactor building and the
machine hall, which were extinguished by firefighters after a few hours.
•
Approximately 20 hours after the explosions, a large fire started as the material in the
reactor set fire to combustible gases. The large fire burned during 10 days.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
•
The radioactive materials from the damaged reactor were mainly released over a 10-day
period. An initial high release rate on the first day resulted from the explosions in the
reactor. There followed a five-day period of declining releases associated with the hot
air and fumes from the burning graphite core material.
In the next few days, the release rate increased until day 10, when the releases dropped
abruptly, thus ending the period of intense release.
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2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
•
•
•
•
The releases included radioactive gases, condensed aerosols and a large amount of fuel
particles.
The total release of radioactive substances was about 14 EBq [1 EBq = 1018 Bq
(Becquerel)], including:
• 1.8 EBq of iodine-131,
• 0.085 EBq of 137Cs,
• 0.01 EBq of 90Sr and
• 0.003 EBq of plutonium radioisotopes.
The noble gases contributed about 50% of the total release.
The radioactive materials released by the accident deposited with greatest density in
the regions surrounding the reactor in the European part of the former Soviet Union.
The cloud from the burning reactor spread numerous types of radioactive materials,
especially iodine and caesium radionuclides, over much of Europe.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
The nearby city of Pripyat was
not immediately evacuated.
The townspeople went about
their usual business, completely
oblivious to what had just
happened. However, within a
few hours of the explosion,
dozens of people fell ill. Later,
they reported severe
headaches and metallic tastes
in their mouths, along with
uncontrollable fits of coughing
and vomiting.
•
The evacuation began only on
the 27 April at 14:00. 53,000
people were evacuated to
various villages of Kiev region.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
The abandoned city of Pripyat
with Chernobyl plant in the distance
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
•
The next day, talks began for evacuating
people from the 10 km zone. Ten days
after the accident, the evacuation area
was expanded to 30 km. By 14 May, some
116,000 people had been evacuated and
later relocated. About 1000 of these
returned unofficially to live within the
contaminated zone.
•
In the years following the accident, a
further 220,000 people were resettled into
less contaminated areas, and the initial 30
km radius exclusion zone (2800 km2) was
modified and extended to cover 4300 km2.
This "exclusion zone" has remained ever
since, although its shape has changed and
its size has been expanded.
1996 Chernobyl radiation map
40 Ci/m2 = 1480 kBq/m2
15 Ci/m2 = 555 kBq/m2
5 Ci/m2 = 185 kBq/m2
1 Ci/m2 = 37 kBq/m2
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Extent of the accident
•
•
•
•
Only on 28 April, after radiation levels set off alarms at the Forsmark Nuclear Power
Plant in Sweden, over 1,000 km from the Chernobyl Plant, did the Soviet Union publicly
admit that an accident had occurred. The accident was publicly known throughout the
Soviet Union after an announcement was read in the TV news program that evening.
The accident caused the largest uncontrolled radioactive release into the environment
ever recorded for any civilian operation, and large quantities of radioactive substances
were released into the air for about 10 days.
It is estimated that all of the xenon gas, about half of the iodine and caesium, and at
least 5% of the remaining radioactive material in the Chernobyl 4 reactor core (which
had 192 tonnes of fuel) was released in the accident.
The cloud from the burning reactor spread numerous types of radioactive materials,
especially iodine and caesium radionuclides, over much of Europe.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Extent of the accident
•
•
•
The radionuclides released from the reactor that caused exposure of individuals were
mainly iodine-131, caesium-134 and caesium-137.
Iodine-131 has a short radioactive half-life (eight days), but it can be transferred to
humans relatively rapidly from the air and through consumption of contaminated milk
and leafy vegetables. Iodine becomes localized in the thyroid gland. For reasons related
to the intake of milk and dairy products by infants and children, as well as the size of
their thyroid glands and their metabolism, the radiation doses are usually higher for
them than for adults.
The isotopes of caesium have relatively longer half-lives (caesium-134 has a half-life of 2
years while that of caesium-137 is 30 years). These radionuclides cause longer-term
exposures through the ingestion pathway and through external exposure from their
deposition on the ground. Many other radionuclides were associated with the accident,
which were also considered in the exposure assessments.
Effects of Radiation Exposure
•
The effects of radiation exposure fall into two main classes: deterministic effects and
stochastic effects.
•
Deterministic effects , where the effects are certain to occur under given conditions (e.g.
individuals exposed over a short period of time will definitely suffer Acute Radiation
Syndrome.
Stochastic effects, where the
effects may or may not occur
(e.g. an increase in radiation
exposure may or may not
induce a cancer in a particular
individual but if a sufficiently
large population receive a
radiation exposure above a
certain level, an increase in the
incidence of cancer may
become detectable in that
population.
•
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Radiation measurements
Quatities of
radiation
radioactivity
exposure
dose
dose equivalent
SI
other
Becquerel (Bq)
Coulombs per kilogram (C/kg)
Gray (Gy)
Sievert (Sv)
Curie (Ci)
Roentgen (R)
Radiation absorbed dose (rad)
Roentgen equivalente in man (rem)
1 Bq = 1 s-1. 1 Bq is the activity of a quantity of radioactive material in which one
nucleus decays per second.
1 C = 1 A x 1 s. 1 C is the charge transported by a constant current of one ampere in
one second. It is the charge of roughly 6.241509×1018 positrons or protons (or -1 C
the charge of 6.241509×1018 electrons).
1 Gy = 1 J/kg - a physical quantity. 1 Gy is the deposit of a joule of radiation energy in a
kg of matter or tissue.
1 Sv = 1 J/kg - a biological effect. The sievert represents the equivalent biological
effect of the deposit of a joule of radiation energy in a kilogram of human tissue.
1 Ci = 37x109 Bq
1 R = 2.58x10-4 C/kg
1 rad = 0.01 Gy
1 rem = 0.01 Sv
Effects of Radiation Exposure
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
International Nuclear Event Scale
The International Nuclear and Radiological Event Scale (INES) was introduced in 1990 by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in order to enable prompt communication of
safety-significant information in case of nuclear accidents.
The scale is logarithmic, similar to the magnitude scale that is used to describe the
comparative magnitude of earthquakes. Each increasing level represents an accident
approximately ten times more severe than the previous level.
Compared to earthquakes, where the event intensity can be quantitatively evaluated, the
level of severity of a a nuclear accident, is more subject to interpretation.
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2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
International Nuclear Event Scale
Level 7: Major accident
• Major release of radioactive material with widespread health and environmental effects
requiring implementation of planned and extended countermeasures.
Level 6: Serious accident
• Significant release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of planned
countermeasures.
Level 5: Accident with wider consequences
• Limited release of radioactive material likely to require implementation of some planned
countermeasures.
• Several deaths from radiation.
• Impact on radiological barriers and control
• Release of large quantities of radioactive material within an installation with a high
probability of significant public exposure. This could arise from a major criticality
accident or fire.
Level 4: Accident with local consequences
• Minor release of radioactive material unlikely to result in implementation of planned
countermeasures other than local food controls.
• At least one death from radiation.
• Fuel melt or damage to fuel resulting in more than 0.1% release of core inventory.
• Release of significant quantities of radioactive material within an installation with a high
probability of significant public exposure.
International Nuclear Event Scale
Level 3: Serious incident
Exposure in excess of ten times the statutory annual limit for workers.
Non-lethal deterministic health effect (e.g., burns) from radiation.
Exposure rates of more than 1 Sv/h in an operating area.
Severe contamination in an area not expected by design, with a low probability of
significant public exposure.
Near-accident at a nuclear power plant with no safety provisions remaining.
Lost or stolen highly radioactive sealed source.
Misdelivered highly radioactive sealed source without adequate procedures in place to
handle it.
Level 2: Incident
Exposure of a member of the public in excess of 10 mSv.
Exposure of a worker in excess of the statutory annual limits.
Radiation levels in an operating area of more than 50 mSv/h.
Significant contamination within the facility into an area not expected by design.
Significant failures in safety provisions but with no actual consequences.
Found highly radioactive sealed orphan source, device or transport package with safety
provisions intact.
Inadequate packaging of a highly radioactive sealed source.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
International Nuclear Event Scale
Level 1: Anomaly
Overexposure of a member of the public in excess of statutory annual limits.
Minor problems with safety components with significant defence-in-depth remaining.
Low activity lost or stolen radioactive source, device or transport package.
Level 0: Deviation
No safety significance.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Ukraine, Soviet Union
Surface ground deposition of
caesium-137 released in the Chernobyl accident
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Surface-ground deposition of 137Cs throughout Europe
as a result of the Chernobyl accident
Source: UN Chernobyl Forum 2006 Chernobyl’s Legacy:
Health, Environmental and Socio-economic Impacts
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Direct radiation exposure
•
The casualties included firefighters who attended the initial fires on the roof of the
turbine building. All these were put out in a few hours, but radiation doses on the first
day were estimated to range up to 20,000 millisieverts (mSv), causing 28 deaths – six of
which were firemen – by the end of July 1986.
•
The next task was cleaning up the radioactivity at the site so that the remaining three
reactors could be restarted, and the damaged reactor shielded more permanently. About
200,000 people ('liquidators') from all over the Soviet Union were involved in the
recovery and clean-up during 1986 and 1987. They received high doses of radiation.
•
Some 20,000 of them received about 250 mSv and a few received 500 mSv.
•
The highest doses were received by about 1000 emergency workers and on-site
personnel during the first day of the accident.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Direct radiation exposure
•
Average effective doses to those persons most affected by the accident were assessed to
be about 120 mSv for 530,000 recovery operation workers, 30 mSv for 115,000
evacuated persons and 9 mSv during the first two decades after the accident to those
who continued to reside in contaminated areas.
•
For comparison, the typical dose from a single computed tomography scan is 9 mSv.
•
The International Commission on Radiological Protection recommends the limit of
50 mSv in a single year with a maximum of 100 mSv in a consecutive five-year period,
and for the public to an average of 1 mSv (0.001 Sv) of effective dose per year, not
including medical and occupational exposures
•
Outside Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, other European countries were
affected by the accident. Average national doses there were less than 1 mSv in the first
year after the accident with progressively decreasing doses in subsequent years.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Health Effects
The conclusions of the 2005 Chernobyl Forum study are the folowing:
• Among the residents of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine, there had been up
to the year 2005 more than 6,000 cases of thyroid cancer reported in children and
adolescents who were exposed at the time of the accident, and more cases can be
expected during the next decades. Many of those cancers were most likely caused by
radiation exposures shortly after the accident.
• Apart from thyroid cancer increase,
there is no evidence of a major
public health impact attributable to
radiation exposure 14 years after the
accident.
• There is no scientific evidence of
increases in overall cancer incidence
or mortality or in non-malignant
disorders that could be related to
radiation exposure.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Health Effects
•
•
•
The clean-up workers – where high doses may have been received – remain at
increased risk of cancer in the long term.
People in the area have suffered a paralysing fatalism due to myths and misperceptions
about the threat of radiation, which has contributed to a culture of chronic dependency.
Relocations of people were very traumatic.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Securing the Site
•
Chernobyl unit 4 is now
enclosed in a large concrete
shelter which was erected
quickly (by October 1986) to
allow continuing operation
of the other reactors at the
plant. However, the
structure is neither strong
nor durable.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
•
In the early 1990s, some USD 400 million was spent on improvements to the remaining
reactors at Chernobyl, considerably enhancing their safety.
•
Energy shortages necessitated the continued operation of unit 3 until December 2000.
Unit 2 was shut down after a turbine hall fire in 1991, and unit 1 at the end of 1997.)
•
Almost 6000 people worked at the plant every day, and their radiation dose has been
within internationally accepted limits. Workers and their families now live in a new
town, Slavutich, 30 km from the plant. This was built following the evacuation of Pripyat.
•
Some major work on the unit 4 the shelter was carried out in 1998 and 1999. Some 200
tonnes of highly radioactive material remains deep within it, and this poses an
environmental hazard until it is better contained.
•
A New Safe Confinement (NSC) structure is due to be completed in 2017.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
•
•
•
The Chernobyl nuclear accident, and government policies adopted to cope with its
consequences, imposed huge costs on the Soviet Union and three successor countries,
Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. Although these three countries bore the
brunt of the impact, given the spread of radiation outside the borders of the Soviet
Union, other countries (in Scandinavia, for instance) sustained economic losses as well.
The agricultural sector was the area of the economy worst hit by the effects of the
accident. A total of more than 780 thousand hectares of agricultural land was removed
from service in the three countries, and timber production was halted for a total of 690
thousad hectares of forest.
The estimates of the costs of the Chernobyl nuclear accident, over two decades, are of
the level of hundreds of billions of dollars.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
The scale of the burden is clear from the wide range of costs incurred, both direct and
indirect:
— Direct damage caused by the accident;
— Expenditures related to:
Actions to seal off the reactor and mitigate the consequences in the exclusion zone;
Resettlement of people and construction of new housing and infrastructure to
accommodate them;
Social protection and health care provided to the affected population;
Research on environment, health and production of clean food;
Radiation monitoring of the environment; and
Radioecological improvement of settlements and disposal of radioactive waste.
— Indirect losses relating to the opportunity cost of removing agricultural land and forests
from use and the closure of agricultural and industrial facilities; and
— Opportunity costs, including the additional costs of energy resulting from the loss of
power from the Chernobyl and the cancellation of Belarus’s nuclear power programme.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
•
•
•
•
•
Coping with the impact of the disaster has placed a huge burden on national budgets.
In Ukraine, 5–7 percent of government spending each year is still devoted to Chernobylrelated benefits and programmes.
In Belarus, government spending on Chernobyl amounted to 22.3 percent of the
national budget in 1991, declining gradually to 6.1 percent in 2002. Total spending by
Belarus on Chernobyl between 1991 and 2003 was more than USD 13 billion.
This massive expenditure has created an unsustainable fiscal burden, particularly for
Belarus and Ukraine.
Although capital-intensive spending on resettlement programmes has been curtailed or
concluded, large sums continue to be paid out in the form of social benefits for as many
as 7 million recipients in the three countries.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Environmental effects
• Environmental damage was widespread immediately following the accident, stretching
from fauna and vegetation to rivers and lakes and all the way down to the groundwater.
The extent of the damage led scientists and government officials to the conclusion that
the Chernobyl exclusion zone had been subjected to enough radioactive fallout to
severely alter the ecological balance of the region for decades. This initial assessment
could not be farther from the truth as wildlife abounds in even the most affected areas
of Chernobyl no more than 20 years after the disaster.
The Red Forest
• The second major plume of radiation released by the Chernobyl nuclear accident was
carried directly over what is now called the Red Forest.
• Radioactive particles settled on trees, killing near 400 ha
of pine forest. The Red Forest is now one of the most
contaminated terrestrial habitats on earth.
• The highly radioactive plume killed most of the Scots
Pines Pinus sylvestris in the area, but Birch Betula spp.
and Aspen Populus tremula are more radio-resistant. Now
the pine trees are being replaced as the forest recovers.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Environmental effects
Groundwaters
• The integrity of the groundwater is another area of concern following the accident.
Initial contamination of the groundwater may have been introduced by method of
disposal used for the Red Forest.
• Much of the Red Forest was bulldozed and buried in trenches that were covered. As the
trees decay radiation leaches into the groundwater.
• Additional contamination via percolation of radioactive material through the soil is not
expected due to many of the radionuclides being short-lived, while the longer-lived
radiocaesium and radiostrontium were adsorbed to surface soils before they could
transfer to groundwaters.
Fauna and vegetation
• The fallout from the explosion had obvious adverse effects on life in the exclusion zone
and the four-kilometre red forest, but the current ecological stability seen in those same
regions that experienced deadly doses of {C}radioactivity in 1986 is an unexpected
result. In the 20 years since the accident, the sum effect for the flora and fauna in the
highly radioactive, restricted zone has been overwhelmingly positive in favour of
biodiversity and abundance of individuals. For example, researchers have experienced
numerous sightings of elk (Alces alces), roe deer (Capreol capreolus), Russian wild boar
(Sus scrofa), foxes (Vulpes vulpes), otters (Lutra lutra), and hares (Lepus europaeus)
within the 10-km exclusion zone; however, none of these taxa were observed outside
the 30 km zone.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Environmental effects
Fauna and vegetation
• The fallout from the explosion had obvious adverse effects on life in the exclusion zone
and the four-kilometre red forest, but the current ecological stability seen in those same
regions that experienced deadly doses of radioactivity in 1986 is an unexpected result.
• In the 20 years since the accident, the sum effect for the flora and fauna in the highly
radioactive, restricted zone has been overwhelmingly positive in favour of biodiversity
and abundance of individuals. For example, researchers have experienced numerous
sightings of elk (Alces alces), roe deer (Capreol capreolus), Russian wild boar (Sus scrofa),
foxes (Vulpes vulpes),
otters (Lutra lutra), and
hares (Lepus europaeus)
within the 10-km exclusion
zone; however, none of
these taxa were observed
outside the 30 km zone.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
Environmental effects
• While exposure to high levels of radiation do have discernible, negative impacts on plant
and animal life, it is obvious that the benefit of excluding humans from this highly
contaminated ecosystem appears to outweigh significantly any negative cost associated
with Chernobyl radiation. The relocation of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian citizens,
while painful and unfortunate given the circumstances, have allowed ecosystems to
flourish in the absence of human activity that is harmful to biodiversity.
• Several proposed efforts to remediate the radioactivity in the Chernobyl environment
would have a negative impact on the region’s thriving natural systems. One proposal
was circulated that would burn trees and vegetation from contaminated areas to collect
the radionuclides and create energy. If enacted, this project would cost 30 million USD
and would likely increase the man-dose when compared to no remediation action.
• Burning vegetative biomass would only exacerbate the movement of significant
quantities of radionuclides from soils and sediments. There is a critical need for quality
scientific information concerning the environmental and health risks associated with
nuclear accidents before major decisions regarding remediation are made..
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
The Lessons Learnt from the Disaster
• The Chernobyl reactor had no features to prevent large-scale accidents and radioactive
releases and was unstable at low power levels.
• Regulations on the safety of nuclear energy facilities should require extensive
emergency preparedness planning:
• Stringent emergency preparedness plans. Even with the Chernobyl reactor’s poor
design, officials could have averted many radioactive exposures to the population
with an effective emergency response. Key personnel at power reactors should
work with surrounding populations on an ongoing basis to prepare for an orderly
and speedy evacuation in the unlikely event of an accident.
• Alert and notification. Chernobyl plant operators concealed the accident from
authorities and the local population, and thus the government did not even begin
limited evacuations until about 36 hours after the accident. Nuclear power plant
operators are required to alert local authorities and make recommendations for
protecting the public within 15 minutes of identifying conditions that might lead to
a significant release—even if such a release does not occurred.
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
The Lessons Learnt from the Disaster
• Protecting the food chain. Since authorities did not promptly disclose details of the
Chernobyl accident, many people unknowingly consumed contaminated milk and
food. The authorities should carefully monitor and test food and water supplies that
potentially could become contaminated, and quarantine and remove from public
consumption any unsafe food or water.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
Chernobyl Nuclear Accident
The Lessons Learnt from the Disaster
• The Chernobyl accident was a radiation event unique in human history.
• In terms of human losses, it was a minor event as compared with many other man-made
catastrophes.
• But, in political, economic, social and psychological terms, its impact was enormous.
• This was the worst possible catastrophe of a badly constructed nuclear reactor; with a
complete meltdown of reactor core; followed by ten days of completely free emission of
radionuclides into the atmosphere. Nothing worse could happen.
• The most tangible practical benefits that have resulted from the Chernobyl accident
concern reactor safety and crisis management of the nuclear industry.
• The occupational death toll may not have been severe, but the catastrophe also
changed the view of people engaged in radiological protection on the paradigm on
which the present safety regulations are based.
1986
The Single European Act
European Economic Community
•
The Single European Act (SEA) revises the Treaties of Rome (1957) in order to add new
momentum to European integration and to complete the internal market. It amends the
rules governing the operation of the European institutions and expands Community
powers, notably in the field of research and development, the environment and
common foreign policy.
•
The act adds three new articles (Artices130R, 130S and 130T of the EEC Treaty) which
permit the Community "to preserve, protect and improve the quality of the environment,
to contribute towards protecting human health, and to ensure a prudent and rational
utilization of natural resources".
•
It specifies that the Community can only intervene in environmental matters when this
action can be attained better at Community level than at the level of the individual
Member States (subsidiarity).
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1986
The Single European Act
European Economic Community
1987
Brundtland Report
“Our Common Future”
World Commission on Environment and Development
The Brundtland Report, also called Our Common Future, was released
in 1987 by the World Commission on Environment and Development
(WCED), sponsored by the United Nations and chaired by Norwegian
Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland.
WCED explored the causes of environmental degradation, attempted to
understand the interconnections between social equity, economic
growth, and environmental problems, and developed policy solutions
that integrated all three areas.
The report introduced the concept of sustainable development
and described how it could be achieved.
Sustainable development is the “development that meets the needs of
the present without compromising the ability of future generations to
meet their own needs”.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
Definitions of Sustainable Development
1980 IUCN World Conservation Strategy
“For development to be sustainable, it must take account of social and ecological
factors, as well as economic ones, of the living and non-living resource base, and of
the long-term as well as the short-term advantages and disadvantages of
alternative action”
A prerequisite for sustainable development is the conservation of living resources
• to maintain essential ecological processes and life-support systems on which
human survival and development depend;
• to preserve genetic diversity; and
• to ensure the sustainable utilization of species and ecosystems.
1987 Brundtland Report “Our Common Future”
Sustainable development is the “development that meets the needs of the present
without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs”.
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
•
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty
designed to protect the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous
substances that are responsible for ozone depletion.
•
It was agreed on 16 September 1987, and entered into force on 1 January 1989. The
Vienna Convention and the Protocol have been ratified by 197 parties, which includes
196 states and the European Union, making them the first universally ratified treaties in
United Nations history.
•
It has undergone eight revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen),
1993 (Bangkok), 1995 (Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), 1998 (Australia), 1999 (Beijing) and
2007 (Montreal).
•
As a result of the international agreement, the ozone hole in Antarctica is slowly
recovering. Climate projections indicate that the ozone layer will return to 1980 levels
between 2050 and 2070.
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
•
Due to its widespread adoption and implementation it has been hailed as an example of
exceptional international co-operation.
•
Effective burden sharing and solution proposals mitigating regional conflicts of interest
have been among the success factors for the Ozone depletion challenge.
•
It is widely believed that without the protocol, ozone depletion would have risen to
around 50 per cent in the northern hemisphere and 70 per cent in the southern midlatitudes by 2050.
•
This would have resulted in twice as much UVB reaching the Earth in the northern midlatitudes and four times as much in the south.
•
The implications of this would have been horrendous: 19 million more cases of non
melanoma cancer, 1.5 million cases of melanoma cancer, and 130 million more cases of
eye cataracts.
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
The Protocol can be summarized in seven key features:
1. It requires each of the 196 countries and the European Union that ratified the protocol
and its amendments to phase out production and consumption of nearly 100 chemicals
that have ozone depleting properties, in accordance with agreed timelines.
2. The protocol requires each of the Parties to report annually on their production, imports
and exports of each of the chemicals they have undertaken to phase out.
3. An Implementation Committee made up of ten Parties from different geographical
regions reviews data reports submitted by Parties, assesses their compliance status, and
makes recommendations to a meeting of the Parties regarding countries in noncompliance.
4. The protocol includes trade provisions that prevent Parties from trading in ODS and
some products containing ODS with non-Parties, and also provisions for trade between
Parties.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
5. The protocol includes an adjustment provision that enables Parties to respond to
developing science and accelerate the phase-out of agreed ODS without going through
the lengthy formal process of national ratification. It has been adjusted five times to
accelerate the phase-out schedule, which is in itself a remarkable achievement;
6. Developing countries are allowed a “grace period” of 10 to 16 years beyond the dates
established for industrialized countries to comply with the control provisions of the
protocol;
7. In 1990 the Parties established the Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the
Montreal Protocol to help developing countries meet their compliance obligations under
the treaty.
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
Summary of Montreal Protocol Control Measures
.
Ozone Depleting Substances
Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)
Halons
Carbon tetrachloride
Methyl chloroform
Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs)
Hydrobromofluorocarbons (HBFCs)
Methyl bromide
Developed Countries
Phased out end of 1995 a
Phased out end of 1993
Phased out end of 1995 a
Phased out end of 1995 a
Freeze from beginning of 1996
35% reduction by 2004
65% reduction by 2010
90% reduction by 2015
Total phase out by 2020 c
Phased out end of 1995
Freeze in 1995 at 1991 base level d
25% reduction by 1999
50% reduction by 2001
70% reduction by 2000
Total phase out by 2005
Developing Countries
Total phase out by 2010
Total phase out by 2010
Total phase out by 2010
Total phase out by 2015
Freeze in 2016 at 2015 base level
Total phase out by 2040
Phased out end of 1995
Freeze in 2002 at
average1995-1998 base level
20% reduction by 2005
Total phase out by 2015
a
With the exception of a very small number of internationally agreed essential uses that are considered critical to
human health and/or laboratory and analytical procedures.
b Based on 1989 HCFC consumption with an extra allowance (ODP weighted) equal to 2.8% of 1989 CFC consumption.
c Up to 0.5% of base level consumption can be used until 2030 for servicing existing equipment.
d All reductions include an exemption for pre-shipment and quarantine uses.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
23
EVOLUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLICIES
1987
Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer
Simulations of the Antarctic
ozone hole contrast the
“expected future” resulting
from curtailing chlorofluorocarbons and a “world
avoided” scenario in which
CFC use increases annually
by 3%. The equivalent
effective stratospheric
chlorine (EESC) accounts for
the influence of chlorine
and the more-destructive
bromine, both products of
anthropogenic gases.
By 2014 the EESC in the “world avoided” is almost twice that in the “expected future,” and
total ozone is about 80 Dobson units less. By 2060 the EESC is 17 times as high, Antarctic
total ozone is 260 DU less, and large ozone depletions cover the entire globe.
António Goçalves Henriques
2015-10-09
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