Development and verification of the technology for reconstructing effective radiation doses for the population of Russia affected by the Chernobyl accident

The technology for reconstructing settlement-average annual cumulative radiation doses of internal and external exposure, as well as effective radiation doses for the population of four Russian oblasts radioactively contaminated following the Chernobyl accident is described. Officially approved instructional guidelines on methods for calculating settlement-average doses of external and internal exposure for the population and reference books on radiation doses are used in the study. The developed method is intended to be used in radiation-epidemilogical studies, in particular the studies carried out at the National Radiation Epidemiological Registry (NRER). Results of reconstruction of settlement-average annual cumulative radiation exposure for the period from 1986 over 2016, as well as effective doses for adults matching the reference cumulative doses for the period from 1986 through 1995 are given in the article. Reconstructed cumulative doses over the year 2005 were tested. Reference annual effective doses of external and internal exposure for population of a certain settlement used in radiation-epidemiologic studies to attribute the settlement to a specific zone of population exposure were updated in 2007, 2011 and 2014. Comparison of reconstructed annual radiation doses in 2007, 2011, 2014 and recalculated reference doses with regard to settlement-average doses for population demonstrates goodness of fit between reconstructed and recalculated doses.