Estimation of radiation risks of respiratory diseases in liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident consequences taking into account the influence of other diseases detected in them during the observation period

The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) has repeatedly drawn attention to the practical importance of assessments of radiation-related harm to human health associated with tissue reactions. The aim of this study is to assess radiation risks of respiratory diseases in the range of low and medium doses (up to 1.5 Gy). In the Russian cohort of 87407 liquidators of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident, observed in the National Radiation Epidemiological Registry (NRER) system in 1986-2023, 65818 cases of respiratory diseases and 2230 deaths from respiratory diseases were first detected. The average absorbed dose of whole-body external gamma irradiation accumulated by the liquidators during their work was 0.133 Gy, the maximum dose was 1.5 Gy, and the average age at the beginning of exposure was 33.5 years. A statistically significant (p