Radiation doses received by the workers involved in agricultural operations on the territories contaminated by radionuclides (137Cs, 241Am and 238, 239 + 240Pu)

The article presents the data on radioactive contamination of soil and air within operational field area in the period of the main dust-rising agricultural operations (disking, plowing, sowing and harvesting). The data were obtained in the field experiment implemented on the lands of Gomel region in Belarus 42 km from Chernobyl. The comparative estimation was performed in relation to effective external doses and committed effective doses of internal exposure due to inhalation of 137Cs, 241Am and 238,239+240Pu by agricultural workers. According to calculations, maximum effective doses of internal exposure due to inhalation of 137Cs, and transuranic 241Am and 238,239+240Pu are likely to be received in machinery operator’s cabin not equipped with the air conditioning system. The most dust-making agricultural operations lead to the committed effective dose of internal exposure of workers due to 137Cs and both transuranic elements ( 241Am + 238,239+240Pu) which 2 orders of magnitude less than effective dose of their external exposure. Assuming that the annual field working time is 70 hours, the total dose of internal and external exposures of workers is 3% of the basic exposure limit for population which is 1 mSv/year.