WASHINGTON—The Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe, also known as the Helsinki Commission, today announced the following briefing:

“Nuclear Pollution in the Arctic: the Next Chernobyl?”

Tuesday, November 15, 2016
3:30 PM
Rayburn House Office Building
Room 2325

For decades, certain nations have used the Arctic as a dumping ground for unwanted nuclear waste. Experts estimate that nuclear contamination in the Artic includes tens of thousands of containers of nuclear waste, in addition to dozens of radioactive ships, reactors, pieces of machinery, and submarines. If this waste is not expeditiously removed from the Arctic, what could be the consequences for human health, commercial interests, and wildlife in the region and beyond?

This briefing will examine the policy of the United States, the Russian Federation, and other Arctic Council nations toward the Arctic. Experts will present a general overview of U.S. and international policy in the Arctic, the broader geopolitics of the region, and the imminent threat posed by nuclear pollution.

The following experts are scheduled to participate:

• Nils Bøhmer, Managing Director, Bellona Foundation
• Julia Gourley, U.S. Senior Arctic Official, Department of State
• Jon Rahbek-Clemmensen, Visiting Fellow, Europe Program, Center for Strategic and International Studies