Assessment of external radiation doses to forestry workers in radioactive contamination zones in the Bryansk region

Currently, in a significant part of the former agricultural lands of the southwestern districts of the Bryansk region, there is a risk of agricultural production exceeding the permissible levels of 137Cs. One of the possible ways to solve the problem may be the transfer of land for forestry activities. The purpose of the study was a predictive assessment of the doses of external exposure of forestry workers during work on lands excluded from agricultural use. Using the example of the settlement of Uvelye in the Krasnogorsk district of the Bryansk region, the distribution of decommissioned lands by zones of radioactive contamination and the dose of external radiation to workers is predicted. At the time of the last survey (2015), the majority of the land belonged to the II and III zones of radioactive contamination (55% and 33%, respectively). By 2055, the main amount of land is projected to move to pollution zones I and II (54% and 46%, respectively). From 2015 to 2055, the most likely decrease in the interquartile range of the calculated capacity of the ambient dose equivalent is from 0.17-0.35 to 0.07-0.14 mSv/h. When carrying out work for 1200 hours per year in the study area, forestry workers may form an external radiation dose from 0.32-0.36 mSv/year in 2015 to 0.12-0.14 mSv/year in 2055. The data obtained are important when planning forestry activities on lands withdrawn from agricultural circulation.