Exposure levels for persons involved in recovery operations after the Chernobyl accident

Abstract

We present a detailed description of dosimetric data entered in the Russian National Medical and Dosimetric Registry (RNMDR) for emergency workers (liquidators) involved in recovery operations (RO) after the Chernobyl accident. The data on the absorbed doses from external exposure are based on the documents given to liquidators by organizations that performed dosimetric monitoring in the zones of operation. Using the data on external doses currently available in the RNMDR for 119 416 liquidators (78.4% of the total number of 152 325 persons), different statistical characteristics were derived to assess the reliability of the information. The paper also discusses dose distributions according to the date of beginning work in the RO zone [up to 250 km from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant (NPP)], on the distance of the settlement where the liquidators were accommodated or worked from the NPP, and on the duration of their stay in the RO zone. To analyse the reliability of the dosimetric data, the notion of an effective exposure dose rate (EEDR), i.e. the ratio of the dose registered in RNMDR and the duration of stay in the RO zone, was introduced for each liquidator, and corresponding statistical characteristics for the distribution of EEDR depending on the date of entry into the RO zone and distance from the place of residence or work to the NPP were obtained. The analysis for different groups of liquidators shows that the dosimetric information of the RNMDR is, as a statistical aggregate, generally consistent with the data on the radiation situation in the RO zones.