Problems of Radiation Medicine and Radiobiology

RADIATION PROTECTION AND HEALTH OF PERSONNEL OF CONTRACTING ENTERPRISES PARTICIPATING IN WORKS FOR TRANSFORMATION OF THE OBJECT "SHELTER" OF SSE CHORNOBYL NPP INTO AN ECOLOGICALLY SAFE SYSTEM

V. A. Sushko, D. A. Bazyka, I. А. Likhtarev, L. A. Lyashenko, V. B. Berkovskiy, K. N. Loganovskiy,
S. U. Nechaev, L. І. Shvayko, E. A. Sarkіsova, O. О. Kolosynska, V. D. Drozdova, Y. V. Bonchuck,
P. B. Arjasov, G. A. Nezgovorova, O. M. Tatarenko
State Institution "National Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the National Academy of Medical
Sciences of Ukraine", Melnykov str., 53, Kyiv, 04050, Ukraine

Transformation of the object “Shelter” (OS) of SSE Chornobyl NPP into an ecologically safe system is one of the most important state programs in Ukraine. Both medical and dosimetric measures on healthcare of personnel participating in these works ranks the main place among most actual problems of contemporary clinical radiobiology, radiation hygiene, and radiation protection. The study objective was to work out and implement the medical and biophysical checking of the health status and workability both with radiation protection of personnel executing works on transformation of OS into an ecologically safe system.
Materials and methods. The interdependent complex program of medical and biophysical (for internal and external irradiation) control of personnel executing the production tasks under conditions of ionizing radiation impact and open sources of ionizing radiation. Realization of medical examination envisages the estimation of the status of haemopoietic, immune, endocrine, respiratory systems, organ of vision, nervous system, psychics status and psychophysiological adaptation, ear, both with circulatory, digestive, urogenital, and bone$muscular system. There were 19 434 cases of medical control of personnel in total.
Results. Results of the input medical control testify to the following: 4698 (48.90 %) were admitted to work, 4909 (51.10 %) were rejected. Individual annual effective doses of irradiation in the major part of cases did not exceed 12 mSv. There were 1845 cases of 239+240Pu content in excrements exceeding the level of 1.5 mBq/sample at a current biophysical control. Individual doses of internal irradiation at that did not exceed 1 mSv.
Conclusions. The program of medical and biophysical service for reconstruction works on the OS proved its necessity and efficiency as its results showed that under the unique radiation$hygienical conditions not engineering challenges and technical problems but issues of how to save the health and workability of people and prevent the overdose of personnel including due to an internal irradiation are most critical.

Key words: external and internal irradiation, personnel, radiation protection, medical control, Object “Shelter” of SSE Chornobyl NPP.

Problems of radiation medicine and radiobiology. 2013;18:373–383.