Radiation doses of workers engaged in decontamination of the environment

2021 ◽  
pp. 014664532110153
Author(s):  
T. Ogawa ◽  
T. Ueno ◽  
T. Asano ◽  
A. Suzuki ◽  
A. Ito

After the accident at Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant on 11 March 2011, radioactive materials were released into the atmosphere resulting in environmental contamination. Following the implementation of environmental decontamination efforts, the Radiation Dose Registration Centre of the Radiation Effects Association established the radiation dose registration system for decontamination and related workers to consolidate and prevent the loss of radiation records. This article presents statistics on the radiation doses of decontamination and related workers using official records. Since approximately 10 years have passed since the accident in Fukushima, the types of work conducted in the affected restricted areas have changed over time. Therefore, changes in radiation dose for each type of work and comparisons with nuclear workers are presented.

Author(s):  
N. Gunko ◽  
◽  
O. Ivanova ◽  
K. Loganovsky ◽  
N. Korotkova ◽  
...  

Background. Radiation accidents at the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant (USSR, 1986) and Fukushima-1 (Japan, 2011) have shown that global environmental contamination is an intervention in normal human life making negative effect on population health. These accidents highlighted a number of statutory and regulatory both with medical and social problems for individuals, who returned voluntarily for permanent residence in the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone i.e. a radiation-hazardous area (they are named the «self-settlers»). Objective: generalization of experience in the settlement of normative-legal, ecological-dosimetric and medicosocial life issues of population living in the Chornobyl NPP (ChNPP) Exclusion Zone («self-settlers»). Object and methods. The chosen problem is complex, necessitating the generalization of radiation-hygienic, medical-biological, socio-economic, demographic and sociological research results obtained by the national and foreign authors. A set of theoretical research and analysis of empirical data methods on the principles of interdisciplinary interaction was used; the systematic, legal, economic, medical-biological, demographic and retrospective-dosimetric approaches of research were applied. Results. It was shown that a part of population refused to evacuate or had returned for permanent residence to the radiation-hazardous lands after the ChNPP accident. In 1986–2009 the number of «self-settlers» ranged from 150 to 2,000 in different years. In 2021 – the 101 people. Those were mainly people of working age, mostly females, single people or widows/widowers. Рrevious medical and dosimetric studies have shown that long-term residence in the Exclusion Zone affects physical and mental health of «self-settlers» and causes atypical aging, including involvement of the central nervous system. According to calculations, the average effective total radiation dose accumulated by «self-settlers» for the first 3 years was 30 % of dose for the entire post-accident period, and the dose accumulated over 20 years was 54 % of the dose accumulated over 35 years. But the effective radiation doses accumulated in different periods after the accident differ significantly in residents of different Exclusion Zone settlements. This information needs further study in terms of the «radiation dose - health status» dependence. Conclusions. The effective radiation doses accumulated in different periods after the accident differ significantly in the residents of different Exclusion Zone settlements. Тhe average effective total radiation dose accumulated by «self-settlers» for the first 3 years was 30 % of the dose for the entire post-accident period, and the dose accumulated over 20 years was 54 % of the dose accumulated over 35 years. The Scientific Council meeting of NAMS approved the NRCRM Annual Report. Key words: Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, Exclusion Zone, «self-settlers», radiation doses, health.


2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (10) ◽  
pp. E914-E923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kouji H. Harada ◽  
Tamon Niisoe ◽  
Mie Imanaka ◽  
Tomoyuki Takahashi ◽  
Katsumi Amako ◽  
...  

Radiation dose rates were evaluated in three areas neighboring a restricted area within a 20- to 50-km radius of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant in August–September 2012 and projected to 2022 and 2062. Study participants wore personal dosimeters measuring external dose equivalents, almost entirely from deposited radionuclides (groundshine). External dose rate equivalents owing to the accident averaged 1.03, 2.75, and 1.66 mSv/y in the village of Kawauchi, the Tamano area of Soma, and the Haramachi area of Minamisoma, respectively. Internal dose rates estimated from dietary intake of radiocesium averaged 0.0058, 0.019, and 0.0088 mSv/y in Kawauchi, Tamano, and Haramachi, respectively. Dose rates from inhalation of resuspended radiocesium were lower than 0.001 mSv/y. In 2012, the average annual doses from radiocesium were close to the average background radiation exposure (2 mSv/y) in Japan. Accounting only for the physical decay of radiocesium, mean annual dose rates in 2022 were estimated as 0.31, 0.87, and 0.53 mSv/y in Kawauchi, Tamano, and Haramachi, respectively. The simple and conservative estimates are comparable with variations in the background dose, and unlikely to exceed the ordinary permissible dose rate (1 mSv/y) for the majority of the Fukushima population. Health risk assessment indicates that post-2012 doses will increase lifetime solid cancer, leukemia, and breast cancer incidences by 1.06%, 0.03% and 0.28% respectively, in Tamano. This assessment was derived from short-term observation with uncertainties and did not evaluate the first-year dose and radioiodine exposure. Nevertheless, this estimate provides perspective on the long-term radiation exposure levels in the three regions.


2021 ◽  
pp. 169-169
Author(s):  
Sin-ya HOHARA ◽  
Masayo INAGAKI ◽  
Kiyoshi KOJIMA ◽  
Hirokuni YAMANISHI ◽  
Genichiro WAKABAYASHI ◽  
...  

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