Radiological/Nuclear Risk Assessment in the Arctic Full Technical Report

Abstract

The purpose of this report is to provide Arctic States, indigenous peoples and interested readers a summary of radioactive/nuclear materials and activities that may impact the Arctic within the next 10 years, and the risk associated with these potential emergency initiating scenarios. This report provides a description of the initiating scenarios and, where possible, gives example incidents/ accidents for illustrative purposes. To determine the risks for each initiating scenario, a qualitative assessment was conducted using a common questionnaire and telephone interviews with members of the Radiation Experts Group (an expert group of the Emergency Prevention, Preparedness and Response Working Group). A risk matrix was created for each of the 11 example events (likelihood vs. consequences), and a risk was assigned to each based on those results (low risk, moderate risk, high risk or extreme risk).