Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

A. I. Sevalnev, A. V. Kutsak, I. A. Sokolovska

Zaporizhzhia State Medical University, 26 Maiakovsky ave., Zaporizhzhiya, 69035, Ukraine

PROBLEMS OF RADIO SAFETY OF THE POPULATION OF THE ZAPORIZHZHIA REGION WHICH RELATES TO EXPOSURE TO BASIC SOURCES (by review of the literature)

The analysis of scientific literature is carried out in order to generalize the data of many years of research on radioecology of the environment of the population of the Zaporizhzhia region. The results of researches on the main sources of radioactive contamination of the territory, levels and structure of radiation doses of the population due to the natural radiation, diet, medical procedures, and the dose burden of the population are estimated. The main sources of radiation sources existing in the Zaporizhzhia region are considered, their characteristics are given, the rate of their influence on the environment and human is given. For this purpose a wide range of official literary sources and own researches were used.
  The Zaporizhzhia region is located in the south-eastern part of Ukraine and remarcable of the geomorphological structure, which is characterized by the presence of Ukrainian crystalline array enriched with minerals with an elevated level of natural radioactivity. This explains the large component of the radiation dose of the population due to the natural component. Total medieval efficiency of the population dosage of the Zaporizhzhia region at the expense of the natural component – 4,37 mSv, the main contribution to this dose is Radon-222 – 76 %. The level of radon-222 in the air of residential premises ranges from 37 to 112 Bq·m-3. Moreover, the percentage of exceeding the norm (100 Bq·m-3) is from 8% to 62%, depending on the administrative district. On average, 25 % of residential buildings in the region do not match the requirements of NRSU-97 regarding the content of radon in the air of the premises. Even more acute problem of the increased Radon radiation appears for the children's population. Due to the more stringent requirements of NRSU-97 regarding Radon content in the air of premises of preschool educational institutions (PEI) (50 Bq·m-3), 99% of the premises of the PEI do not match the standards. Doses of children radiation because of Radon are higher than in adults and amounted to an average of 6.4 mSv per year with a spread of 4.3–9.7 mSv.
   The second place after Radon exposure to Zaporozhia region is a medical exposure. The analysis of patient dose loads in recent years suggests that the annual dose of irradiation of the population fluctuates in the range of 0.86–0.97 mSv·year-1, the average dose of irradiation is 0.9 mSv·year-1, which is almost 50 % more than the average Ukrainian rate and exceeds the average in the world twice.
   In the Zaporizhzhia region, the total annual radiation dose of the population due to the main sources of radiation is 5.0 mSv·year-1, with the main contribution of Radon-222 – 3.3 mSv and medical exposure – 0.9 mSv. Radon-222 in the air of the premises is the most important radiation factor for the population of Zaporizhzhia region, which creates an average risk level that is unacceptable for the population and requires careful regulatory control with the help of governmental and regional programs.
Key words: radiation protection of the population, main sources of radiation, radiation dose of the population.

Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology.
2019;24:53-64. doi: 10.33145/2304-8336-2019-24-53-64

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