An approach to dose reconstruction for the Urals population

Abstract

Population exposure in the Urals region occurred due to the releases of radionuclides by the Mayak plutonium facility in the 1950's. The major sources of radioactive contamination were the discharges of liquid wastes into the Techa river (1949-1956); an explosion in the storage facility for high level radioactive wastes which formed the East Urals Radioactive Trace in 1957; and gaseous aerosol releases within the first decade of the facility's operation (1949-1957). The problems of dose reconstruction for the population exposed on the Techa river banks and East Urals Radioactive Trace are outlined. The initial data sets and basic models for dose reconstruction are described. The main tasks of the Techa River Dosimetry System Project and the approaches to individual internal and external dose reassessment are formulated.