The IAEA´s Department of Technical Cooperation is investing € 350.000 over three years in the International Chernobyl Research and Information Network (ICRIN) as the international community observes 23 years since the Chernobyl nuclear accident.
The IAEA is one of four UN agencies contributing to a $2.5 million programme designed to meet the information needs of affected communities in Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine.
People living in affected communities continue to face stigma and fear. This communication campaign will seek to address those issues.
Funded by the UN Trust Fund for Human Security, this three-year initiative aims to translate the latest scientific information on the consequences of the accident into sound practical advice for residents.
ICRIN is part of a larger effort to help local communities "return to normal" in the course of the decade that ends in 2016.
Other partners involved in the project are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children´s Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO). The project will draw on the work of the UN Chernobyl Forum, a joint undertaking by eight UN agencies and the Governments of Belarus, Russia and Ukraine that in 2005 issued authoritative scientific findings on the accident´s consequences for health and the environment.
Letting the population know about these findings in plain language should help dispel widespread misconceptions and fight stigma.
The ICRIN project plans to distribute information through education and training for teachers, medical professionals, community leaders, and the media; the creation of Internet-equipped information centers in rural areas; and small-scale community infrastructure projects aimed at improving living conditions and promoting self-reliance.
Background
The accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant on 26 April 1986 was the worst in the history of the nuclear power industry.
Explosions at the reactor released radioactive materials that contaminated vast territories and prompted the evacuation of hundreds of thousands of people.
Since 1986, radiation levels in the affected environments have declined several hundred fold.
The vast majority of people living nearby face no direct or serious threat to their health from radiation.