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A REVIEW OF THE PROBLEM OF RADIATION HAZARDS TO THE POPULATION IN 

 THE TERRITORY OF YAKUTSK-CAKHA SSR 



It is necessary to clearly and unequivocally state that the 

 major dosage received by men from technological sources of 

 radiation come from medicine. The dosage from a single 

 fluorographic examination In a year constitutes 2/3 of the annual 

 radiation load received by a person. The problem on the surface 

 Is a general systematic unavoidable Irradiation of the whole 

 population over the last ten years, although It Is comparable to 

 the normal radiation hazard and tens of previous generations have 

 lived under low natural background radiation levels. 



I. Natural radiation sources. 

 I. I. Natural background gama radiation 



Host of the territory of the republic is characterized by 

 low (up to 20 uR/h) values of natural background gamma radiation. 

 But in certain regions where rock strata of ancient crystalline 

 structure and errupted acidic rock outcrop to the surface, 

 natural gamma radiation equal to 30-60 uR/h reach values of 80- 

 100 and more uP/h over fairly broad areas, comprising a total of 

 a thousand square kilometers of southern Yakut, Olenekskiy, Yst'- 

 . Yanskiy region and eastern Yakutia. 

 ,V In 1991 a mapping of the natural background radiation on a 



Ur ^Bcale of 1:2500000 was begun. The work cost 70 thousand rubles, 



the hecessary^can be completed in 1992 for 20 thousand rubles. 



1.2. Outcropping to the surface of radioactive ore. 

 During exploration for uranium sources, more than 15 



thousand radiometrically anamolies were found, of which more than 

 10 thousand are on the surface, including several hundred 

 anamolies and ores with intensities of from 200-500 up to 1500 

 uR/h. In general, these are localized phenomenon, but they cover 

 areas of kilometers and extend to tens of kilometers in tectonic 

 zones and strata of sedimentary rock. The radiation is 

 associated not only with uranium and thorium, but can also be 

 associated with rare earths, rare metals, apatites and other 

 types of minerals. In any case, one must consider not only the 

 radioactivity, but surface outcropplngs of uranium - easily 

 displaced and highly toxic. It is necessary to emphasize 

 although we have available information on the location and 

 characteristics of these situations, the ecological ramifications 

 have not been studied (in particular, fish are absent from the 

 river, animals avoid the regions, a river in which the upper 

 waters run through uranium ore might be the Oyun-Kyuel • ) . 



1.3. Radon 



According to the assessment of the scientific committee on 

 the effect of atomic radiation OON, radon along with its daughter 

 products of radioactive decay is responsible for about 3/4 of the 

 annual individual effective radiation dosage, received by the 

 population from terrestrial radiation sources. In the republic, 

 measurement of radon concentrations in dwellings has not been 

 done before. 



The results of measurements done In the Zarechnyy Aldanskiy 



