Internally deposited fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident
In our work with about 100 subjects resident in eastern Europe (mostly Poland) at the time of the Chernobyl reactor accident or traveling as tourists, /sup 131/I was readily detectable in the thyroid through mid-June, 1986, and was detectable in some subjects as late as early July, 9 to 10 weeks after the start of the accident. Among 42 subjects who were in eastern Europe on April 26, 1986, and in whom /sup 131/I was detectable, the median activity in the thyroid was 1.4 nCi at the time of measurement. When extrapolated back to April 26 using a single exponential retention function for the thyroid and an 8-day effective half-life, the median activity was 42 nCi. The frequency distribution resembled a lognormal distribution. The extrapolated activities lay between approximately 2 and 1200 nCi. The risk levels derived from these observations of internal radioactivity and my conservative dose projection assumptions are as much as 10 times less than the risk levels published in the lay press during the months following the accident. This underscores the importance of basing risk estimation for internal radioactivity on direct observations. 2 refs., 1 tab.
- Research Organization:
- Argonne National Lab., IL (USA)
- DOE Contract Number:
- W-31109-ENG-38
- OSTI ID:
- 5689382
- Report Number(s):
- CONF-871101-77; ON: DE88003035
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Radioactivity in persons exposed to fallout from the Chernobyl reactor accident
Iodine-131 thyroid uptake results in travelers returning from Europe after the Chernobyl accident
Related Subjects
210300* -- Power Reactors
Nonbreeding
Graphite Moderated
22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
220900 -- Nuclear Reactor Technology-- Reactor Safety
29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY
290300 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Environment
Health
& Safety
290600 -- Energy Planning & Policy-- Nuclear Energy
ACCIDENTS
ALKALI METAL ISOTOPES
BETA DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BETA-MINUS DECAY RADIOISOTOPES
BODY
CESIUM 134
CESIUM 137
CESIUM ISOTOPES
CHERNOBYLSK-4 REACTOR
DAYS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
DOSE EQUIVALENTS
DOSE RATES
ENDOCRINE GLANDS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
FALLOUT
FORECASTING
GLANDS
GRAPHITE MODERATED REACTORS
HAZARDS
HEALTH HAZARDS
HOURS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES
INTERMEDIATE MASS NUCLEI
INTERNAL CONVERSION RADIOISOTOPES
INTERNAL IRRADIATION
IODINE 131
IODINE ISOTOPES
IRRADIATION
ISOMERIC TRANSITION ISOTOPES
ISOTOPES
LWGR TYPE REACTORS
MONITORING
NUCLEI
ODD-EVEN NUCLEI
ODD-ODD NUCLEI
ORGANS
POWER REACTORS
RADIATION MONITORING
RADIATION PROTECTION
RADIOISOTOPES
RADIONUCLIDE KINETICS
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
REACTORS
RISK ASSESSMENT
THERMAL REACTORS
THYROID
WATER COOLED REACTORS
YEARS LIVING RADIOISOTOPES