A wide range of specific occupational risks, including major industrial accidents such as the Chernobyl disaster are covered in various international conventions, guidelines and other instruments including those prepared by the ILO. The Chernobyl experience, of which the 20th anniversary will be commemorated on 26 April 2006, has demonstrated that there is a close relationship between major hazards at the work place, our communities and the environment.

When the Reactor No. 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Ukraine exploded on the night of 26 April 1986, workers bore the full brunt of the blast, many losing their health, homes, jobs and even their lives. Since then, significant progress has been made in the development of safety and health at work, but the last chapter of the world's worst civilian nuclear disaster has yet to be written, says ILO SafeWork specialist Dr. Shengli Niu in an interview with ILO Online [ Read the interview ].

The following ILO and non ILO resources are particularly relevant to issues connected with the effects on human health and the environment in the event of major accidents such as Chernobyl. They also address the risks associated with nuclear power and measures to prevent them at the workplace.

The Convention No 174 on the Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents and its accompanying Recommendation No 181 aim to protect workers, the public and the environment from major industrial accidents, in particular through the prevention of major accidents involving hazardous substances and the limitation of the consequences. The Code of Practice entitled Prevention of Major Industrial Accidents calls for the reinforcement of national systems in the prevention of major industrial accidents.

The Convention No 115 and the Recommendation No 114 on the Radiation Protection applies to all activities involving exposure of workers to ionizing radiations at the workplace, including in nuclear installations. Another ILO instrument on this subject is the Code of Practice on Radiation Protection of Workers (ionizing radiation).

In addition to these standards, the ILO Encyclopaedia on Occupational Health and Safety comprises a series of articles dealing with the occupational health and safety implications after the Chernobyl accident — Disregarding Ergonomic Design Principles: Chernobyl, Occupational Health and Safety Measures in Agricultural Areas Contaminated by Radionuclides: The Chernobyl Experience and Radiation Accidents. It also comprises a chapter on Ionizing Radiation.

The CISDOC bibliographic database contains references to numerous books, training manuals, articles, etc. on various OHS-related subjects including those relating to major industrial accidents. CIS has extracted some of the CISDOC bibliographic records with regard to the Chernobyl accident [access the CIS Bibliography on Chernobyl].

In commemoration of the accident's 20th anniversary, a report entitled Environmental Consequences of the Chernobyl Accident and Their Remediation: Twenty Years of Experience (9.17 MB PDF) has been published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Produced by the World Health Organization (WHO) as a result of a series of expert meetings, Health Effects of the Chernobyl Accident and Special Health Care Programmes (1.58 MB PDF) includes an outline summarizing the main health effects of the accident.

The following web sites give access to information and numerous publications on this subject: