Dose reconstruction for the Urals population. Joint Coordinating Committee on Radiation Effects Research, Project 1.1 -- Final report

Abstract

This work is being carried out as a feasibility study to determine if a long-term course of work can be implemented to assess the long-term risks of radiation exposure delivered at low to moderate dose rates to the populations living in the vicinity of the Mayak Industrial Association (MIA). This work was authorized and conducted under the auspices of the US-Russian Joint Coordinating Committee on Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER) and its Executive Committee (EC). The MIA was the first Russian site for the production and separation of plutonium. This plant began operation in 1948, and during its early days there were technological failures that resulted in the release of large amounts of waste into the rather small Techa River. There were also gaseous releases of radioiodines and other radionuclides during the early days of operation. In addition, there was an accidental explosion in a waste storage tank in 1957 that resulted in a significant release. The Techa River Cohort has been studied for several years by scientists from the Urals Research Centre for Radiation Medicine and an increase in both leukemia and solid tumors has been noted.