Helen Grogan attended the 69th session of the Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR), which was held 9 to13 May 2022 in Vienna, Austria. The Committee is preparing an updated evaluation of public exposure to ionizing radiation from natural and man-made sources. As a member of the U.S. delegation, Helen is a lead writer for this effort as part of the Public Exposures Working Group and is focused on the criteria used to establish the quality of the data for the evaluation. The working group met following the main session.
UNSCEAR was established in 1955 by the U.N. General Assembly in response to widespread concerns about the effects of radiation on human health and the environment. Its mandate in the United Nations system is to assess and report levels and effects of exposure to ionizing radiation. Over the decades, the Committee has become the world authority on radiation science and the estimation of global levels and effects of ionizing radiation. Governments and organizations throughout the world rely on the Committee’s estimates as the scientific basis for evaluating radiation risk and for establishing protective measures.