IAEA PR on Mururoa and Fangataufa Atolls

[Mike Grissom <mikeg@SLAC.Stanford.EDU>]

Radsafers,

Those of you interested in "former" nuclear test sites
(and everyone "down under"!) may find the following
Press Release from the IAEA of interest:

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IAEA PRESS RELEASE
29 May 1998
PR 98/4
EMBARGO: 31 May 1998

Study of Radiological Situation at Atolls
of Mururoa and Fangataufa

A comprehensive report of the study of the current
radiological situation at the Atolls of Mururoa and
Fangataufa in French Polynesia is being released this week
by the International Atomic Energy Agency. The atolls,
narrow rims of coral reef jutting a few metres above ocean
in the middle of the South Pacific, were the site of nuclear
testing from 1966 until 1996, when France ceased such tests.

The Government of France requested the IAEA to undertake the
Study in 1995. The IAEA in turn set up an International
Advisory Committee (IAC) of eminent scientists from various
countries to supervise the Study independently and
objectively. 55 experts external to the IAEA and 18
scientific laboratories from 12 States (plus the IAEA's two
laboratories) participated in the assessment. The Study was
prospective in nature, i.e. it assessed the present
radiological situation after the cessation of testing in the
Atolls and the future consequences. The Study did not assess
retrospectively the past consequences of the nuclear testing
era; nevertheless, it took note and summarized the extensive
assessments made by the United Nations Scientific Committee
on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) at the time of
testing.

An Executive Summary of the Study, including its findings,
conclusions and recommendations, is being released this week
to the South Pacific Forum, a regional organization of 15
South Pacific countries. The Executive Summary will be
considered next week by the Board of Governors of the IAEA
and by the IAEA General Conference in September. The IAEA is
following up with publication of a Main Report of the Study
supported by six Technical Reports, comprising a total of
nearly 2,000 pages of technical material. A Summary Report
is also being published.

The radiological conditions discussed in the Study include
several kilograms of residual plutonium in the sediments in
the lagoon of each atoll, particles containing plutonium and
a small amount of americium on three islets of the Mururoa
atoll, where atmospheric safety trials had been conducted,
and some elevated levels of caesium-137 in small areas of
the Fangataufa atoll. However, the Study found in summary
that the radiological significance of these findings was
limited. The Study concluded that there will be no
radiological health effects which could be either medically
diagnosed in an individual or epidemiologically discerned in
a group of people and which could be attributable to
radiation doses from the residual radioactive material
remaining at the atolls. The Study also assessed the
implications of the residual radioactivity for the local
biota and concluded that they would not be affected.

The Study concluded therefore that neither remedial actions
nor continuing environmental monitoring at Mururoa and
Fangataufa are needed on radiological protection grounds.
The Study suggested nevertheless that an environmental
monitoring programme may be useful in assuring the public
about the continuing radiological safety of the atolls. The
French government plans to continue some environmental
monitoring at the atolls and the Study recommended that
there could be scientific interest in supplementing this
programme by additional monitoring of the underground
migration of certain radionuclides.

A scientific conference to discuss the Study's results will
be held at IAEA Headquarters in Vienna, 30 June - 3 July
1998.

A team headed by the Chairman of the IAC Dr. E. Gail de
Planque is visiting the South Pacific at the moment to brief
interested parties on the Study. Briefings are scheduled for
Nadi, Fiji Islands, on 2 June, the ITT Sheraton Fiji Resort,
Nadi, Denarau Island, and at the Centre Universitaire de
Polynesie Francaise, Fa'a Airport, Tahiti on June 4.

Further information can be obtained as of June 2 from the
Division of Public Information in Vienna (phone 2060-21276,
fax 2060-29616).

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The above may be viewed on the Web at URL:

http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/inforesource/pressrelease/prn0498.html