Предисловие

• -    a statistically significant excess of cancer incidence and cancer mortality rates in hibakusi as compared to the spontaneous rate was established;

• -    a dose response of cancer incidence and cancer mortality rates in the region of medium and high radiation doses (more than 0.2 Sv) was revealed.

At the same time, many issues relating to impacts of low radiation doses in the Japanese cohort have not been resolved and require continuation of many-factorial epidemiological studies.

The 49-th session of the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) was held in May 2000 in Vienna. At the forum of this authoritative international organization considerable attention was given to assessment of health effects of the Chernobyl accident. Publications of leading specialists in radiation epidemiology using both actual and projected data were analyzed. As was pointed out by UNSCEAR, among the most frequently quoted scientific studies are those undertaken by the National Radiation and Epidemiological Registry which was set up by the Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation on the base of the Medical Radiological Research Center of RAMS in Obninsk.

Over nearly 10 years the Bulletin “Radiation and Risk” has published papers of leading specialists of the country in radiation epidemiology and medical radiology. Particular emphasis was placed on scientific studies aiming at objective assessment of direct radiation effects and estimating risk coefficients. Specifically, the Bulletin was the first to publish estimates of radiation risk of leukemia among emergency workers and thyroid cancer in the population living in the territories of Russia contaminated with radionuclides after the Chernobyl accident.

On the other hand, many questions relating to health effects of the Chernobyl accident remain open and unresolved, as do the problems of health effects of low doses in general. These issues will continue to be priority in future publications of the Bulletin of National Radiation and Epidemiological Registry “Radiation and Risk”.

Editorial Board