A preliminary assessment of individual doses in the environs of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident

Abstract

A preliminary assessment has been made of the individual doses to critical group members of the public in the environs of Berkeley, Gloucestershire, arising from fallout resulting from the Chernobyl nuclear reactor accident. The assessment was based on measurements of airborne radionuclide concentrations, ground deposition and nuclide concentrations in rainwater, tapwater, grass, milk and green vegetables. The committed effective dose-equivalent was found to be 200 mu Sv for an adult, and 500 mu Sv for a 1 year old child; the 10 year old child receiving a dose intermediate between these two values. The estimate accounts only for the nuclides measured and the specific exposure routes considered namely ingestion of milk and vegetables, inhalation and external exposure. However, it is believed that the inclusion of a range of other nuclides of potential significance, which may have been present but not measured, and potential intakes from additional routes is unlikely to increase the above estimates by more than a factor of 2.