Screening for 137Cs Body Burden Due to the Chernobyl Accident in Korosten City, Zhitomir, Ukraine: 1996–2008

During the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant (CNPP) accident on 26 April 1986, large amounts of radionuclides were released and spread to vast areas. Inhabitants residing around CNPP have been exposed to external and internal irradiation due to the long half-life of 137Cs (30 years). In this study, we screened for internal whole-body 137Cs concentration using a whole-body counter in the Zhitomir state of Ukraine. The total number of participants was 144,972 (96,149 females and 48,823 males). The median body burden of 137Cs per body weight decreased from 1996 to 2008. In particular, after 2003, more than half of subjects had internal exposure doses below the detectable level. A weak seasonal effect was found in measurement data from 1997 to 1999, but no such effects were observed in later years. We also calculated annual dose for each year and confirmed that doses have been decreasing gradually. In particular, after 2003, the annual effective dose decreased to 0.1 mSv y–1 for 95% of the participants. Only two persons were found to have received more than 5 mSv y–1 since 2007. Although the health effects of 137Cs body burden due to the Chernobyl accident remain uncertain, further screening is needed to monitor the health status and to allay the anxiety of inhabitants in the contaminated areas around CNPP.
Journal of Radiation Research, 52(5), pp.629-633; 2011