Medical radiological consequences 20 years after the Chernobyl accident

Abstract

In accordance with Resolution No. 948 of the Government of the Russian Federation dated September 22, 1993, a National Radiation-Epidemiological Register was created on the basis of the Medical Radiological Scientific Center of the Russian Academy of Medical Sciences. The purpose of the register is to solve two basic problems: to make an objective assessment of the radiation risk for oncological and nononcological illnesses accompanying low irradiation doses (up to 0.2 Sv) and to develop recommendations for providing direct medical assistance in order to reduce to a minimum the long-term consequences of the Chernobyl accident.

At the present time, the National Register contains individual data on 615,000 people who have been exposed to radiation (this register is severalfold larger than the Hiroshima and Nagasaki registers). The basic data from a radiation-epidemiological analysis 20 years after the accident at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant for individuals who participated in the liquidation of the consequences of this accident, including Rosatom personnel, and for people living in areas of Russia contaminated with radionuclides are presented.