Comparative analysis of medical and dosimetric consequences of the 1957 accident and contamination of the Techa river from the perspective of protective measures efficiency

Abstract

The paper deals with the evaluation of the efficiency of the implemented protective measures in the event of accidental exposure of the Urals region population due to radioactive contamination of the Techa River and the 1957 accident. Both of the accidents occurred in one and the same region within approximately the same time frame, and were caused by discharges of Mayak Production Association radioactive waste into the Techa River (1949–1956) and into the atmosphere (1957). Counter-measures that had been undertaken to provide radiation safety of the population differed both in nature and in timeline. Their efficiency was insufficient in the Techa River basin as they were delayed in time and were not implemented to a full extent. But countermeasures in the East Urals Radioactive Trace were much more effective according to medical and dosimetric criteria. As a result, residents of the Techa riverside settlements received much higher organ doses, including doses to red bone marrow, and health effects of accidental exposure were registered in them both soon after and long after the radiation exposure.