External dose reconstruction in tooth enamel of Techa riverside residents

E A Shishkina; A Yu Volchkova; Y S Timofeev; P Fattibene; A Wieser; D V Ivanov; V A Krivoschapov; V I Zalyapin; S Della Monaca; V De Coste; M O Degteva; L R Anspaugh

doi:10.1007/s00411-016-0666-1

External dose reconstruction in tooth enamel of Techa riverside residents

Radiat Environ Biophys. 2016 Nov;55(4):477-499. doi: 10.1007/s00411-016-0666-1. Epub 2016 Sep 6.

Authors

E A Shishkina¹, A Yu Volchkova², Y S Timofeev³, P Fattibene⁴, A Wieser⁵, D V Ivanov^{6

7}, V A Krivoschapov², V I Zalyapin³, S Della Monaca⁴, V De Coste⁴, M O Degteva², L R Anspaugh⁸

Affiliations

¹ Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68A, Vorovsky Str., Chelyabinsk, Russia, 454076. lena@urcrm.ru.
² Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine, 68A, Vorovsky Str., Chelyabinsk, Russia, 454076.
³ Southern Urals State University, 76, Lenin Av., Chelyabinsk, Russia, 454080.
⁴ Istituto Superiore di Sanità and Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161, Rome, Italy.
⁵ German Research Centre for Environmental Health, Helmholtz Zentrum München, 85764, Neuherberg, Germany.
⁶ M.N. Mikheev Institute of Metal Physics, Ural Division of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 18 S. Kovalevskaya Street, Ekaterinburg, Russia, 620990.
⁷ Ural Federal University, 19 Mira Str, Yekaterinburg, Russia, 620002.
⁸ University of Utah, 201 Presidents Circle, Salt Lake City, UT, 84112, USA.

PMID: 27600653
DOI: 10.1007/s00411-016-0666-1

Abstract

This study summarizes the 20-year efforts for dose reconstruction in tooth enamel of the Techa riverside residents exposed to ionizing radiation as a result of radionuclide releases into the river in 1949-1956. It represents the first combined analysis of all the data available on EPR dosimetry with teeth of permanent residents of the Techa riverside territory. Results of electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) measurements of 302 teeth donated by 173 individuals living permanently in Techa riverside settlements over the period of 1950-1952 were analyzed. These people were residents of villages located at the free-flowing river stream or at the banks of stagnant reservoirs such as ponds or blind river forks. Cumulative absorbed doses measured using EPR are from several sources of exposure, viz., background radiation, internal exposure due to bone-seeking radionuclides (⁸⁹Sr, ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y), internal exposure due to ¹³⁷Cs/^137mBa incorporated in soft tissues, and anthropogenic external exposure. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the contribution of different sources of enamel exposure and to deduce external doses to be used for validation of the Techa River Dosimetry System (TRDS). Since various EPR methods were used, harmonization of these methods was critical. Overall, the mean cumulative background dose was found to be 63 ± 47 mGy; cumulative internal doses due to ⁸⁹Sr and ⁹⁰Sr/⁹⁰Y were within the range of 10-110 mGy; cumulative internal doses due to ¹³⁷Cs/^137mBa depend on the distance from the site of releases and varied from 1 mGy up to 90 mGy; mean external doses were maximum for settlements located at the banks of stagnant reservoirs (~500 mGy); in contrast, external doses for settlements located along the free-flowing river stream did not exceed 160 mGy and decreased downstream with increasing distance from the site of release. External enamel doses calculated using the TRDS code and derived from the EPR measurements were found to be in good agreement.

Keywords: Background dose; EPR dosimetry; Environmental exposure; Harmonization; Strontium; The Techa River.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Adult
Aged
Aged, 80 and over
Dental Enamel / radiation effects*
Electron Spin Resonance Spectroscopy
Female
Humans
Male
Middle Aged
Radiation Dosage*
Radioactive Waste
Radiometry
Rivers*
Russia

Substances

Radioactive Waste