title: Evaluation of the Relationship between Current Internal 137Cs Exposure in Residents and Soil Contamination West of Chernobyl in Northern Ukraine.
abstract: After the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident, the residents living around the Chernobyl were revealed to have been internally exposed to 137Cs through the intake of contaminated local foods. To evaluate the current situation of internal 137Cs exposure and the relationship between the 137Cs soil contamination and internal exposure in residents, we investigated the 137Cs body burden in residents who were living in 10 selected cities from the northern part of the Zhitomir region, Ukraine, and collected soil samples from three family farms and wild forests of each city to measured 137Cs concentrations. The total number of study participants was 36,862, of which 68.9% of them were female. After 2010, the annual effective doses were less than 0.1 mSv in over 90% of the residents. The 137Cs body burden was significantly higher in autumn than other seasons (p < 0.001) and in residents living in more contaminated areas (p < 0.001). We also found a significant correlation between the proportion of residents in each city with an estimated annual exposure dose exceeding 0.1 mSv and 137Cs concentration of soil samples from family farms (r = 0.828, p = 0.003). In conclusion, more than 25 years after the Chernobyl accident, the internal exposure doses to residents living in contaminated areas of northern Ukraine is limited but still related to 137Cs soil contamination. Furthermore, the consumption of local foods is considered to be the cause of internal exposure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuko
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Yuka
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okubo
authors.affiliation: Division of Strategic Collaborative Research and 3Department of Isotope Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Naomi
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayashida
authors.affiliation: Center for International Collaborative Research, Nagasaki University, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Jumpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Zhitomir Inter-Area Medical Diagnostic Center, Korosten, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gutevich
authors.affiliation: Zhitomir Inter-Area Medical Diagnostic Center, Korosten, Ukraine.
authors.forename: Sergiy
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chorniy
authors.affiliation: Department of Isotope Medicine, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Takashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kudo
authors.affiliation: Department of Global Health, Medicine and Welfare, Atomic Bomb Disease Institute, Nagasaki University Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Nagasaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Noboru
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Takamura
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes / Q000032:analysis*; D047852:Chernobyl Nuclear Accident; D002947:Cities; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D004781:Environmental Exposure; D005260:Female; D005843:Geography; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011834:Radiation Monitoring; D012621:Seasons; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive / Q000032:analysis*; D014455:Ukraine
chemical_list: D002588:Cesium Radioisotopes; D012990:Soil Pollutants, Radioactive