Estimates of Radiation Effects on Cancer Risks in the Mayak Worker, Techa River and Atomic Bomb Survivor Studies.

For almost 50 y, the Life Span Study cohort of atomic bomb survivor studies has been the primary source of the quantitative estimates of cancer and non-cancer risks that form the basis of international radiation protection standards. However, the long-term follow-up and extensive individual dose reconstruction for the Russian Mayak worker cohort (MWC) and Techa River cohort (TRC) are providing quantitative information about radiation effects on cancer risks that complement the atomic bomb survivor-based risk estimates. The MWC, which includes ~26 000 men and women who began working at Mayak between 1948 and 1982, is the primary source for estimates of the effects of plutonium on cancer risks and also provides information on the effects of low-dose rate external gamma exposures.

In utero exposure to radiation and haematological malignancies: pooled analysis of Southern Urals cohorts.

Background: It is scientifically uncertain whether in utero exposure to low-dose ionising radiation increases the lifetime risk of haematological malignancies.

Methods: We pooled two cohorts from the Southern Urals comprising offspring of female workers of a large nuclear facility (the Mayak Production Association) and of women living in areas along the Techa River contaminated by nuclear accidents/waste from the same facility, with detailed dosimetry.

Results: The combined cohort totalled 19 536 subjects with 700 504 person-years at risk over the period of incidence follow-up, and slightly more over the period of mortality follow-up, yielding 58 incident cases and 36 deaths up to age 61 years.

Chronic low-dose exposure in the Techa River Cohort: risk of mortality from circulatory diseases.

The aim of the present study was to analyze the mortality from circulatory diseases for about 30,000 members of the Techa River cohort over the period 1950-2003, and to investigate how these rates depend on radiation doses. This population received both external and internal exposures from (90)Sr, (89)Sr, (137)Cs, and other uranium fission products as a result of waterborne releases from the Mayak nuclear facility in the Southern Urals region of the Russian Federation. The analysis included individualized estimates of the total (external plus internal) absorbed dose in muscle calculated based on the Techa River Dosimetry System 2009.