Evaluation of anthropogenic dose distribution amongst building walls at the Metlino area of the upper Techa River region.

This paper presents the results of an effort to evaluate anthropogenic doses in bricks from old buildings located on the banks of the Techa River. The river area was contaminated in 1949-1956 as a result of radioactive waste releases by the Mayak plutonium facility (Southern Urals, Russia). Absorbed doses were determined by luminescence measurements of quartz extracted from the near-surface layers of bricks sampled in 1991-1997 from three remained buildings (a mill, a granary and a church). These buildings are located in the former residence area of Metlino, which was the settlement located closest to the release site (residents of Metlino were relocated from the contaminated river in 1956). The measured anthropogenic dose in the three buildings was found to be comparable: minimum values were equal to 0.5-0.9 Gy and maximum values amounted to about 3-4 Gy. Unfortunately, the geometry of gamma-exposure of the brick samples changed significantly in 1956 as a result of creation of an artificial reservoir downstream of the Metlinsky pond. Since luminescence data provide absorbed dose in the investigated samples accumulated over the whole period of irradiation, for interpretation of the data obtained it is important to know the exposure geometry for the period of maximal exposure, which was in the early 1950s. In 2005, archival data describing configuration of contaminated water streams and shorelines (which were the main sources of gamma-irradiation) were published. Comparison of these data with the results of the luminescence study presented here showed that the bricks with the highest thermoluminescence (TL)-based doses faced contaminated shores and were located close to them. In contrast, the bricks with lower values of measured dose were opposite to contaminated shores and/or being shielded. This demonstrates that the luminescence method allowed reconstruction of the anthropogenic dose distribution in the former settlement center. The obtained results suggest new options for further luminescence studies in Metlino aimed at the reconstruction of the external exposures of the affected population

Potential and limitations of the 210° C TL peak in quartz for retrospective dosimetry.

The potential of the 210 degrees C Thermoluminescence (TL) peak in quartz for accurate dose reconstruction is studied by comparative TL and optically simulated luminescence (OSL) measurements on quartz extracted from bricks from a mill in a contaminated village of the Techa River valley, Southern Urals, Russia. The cumulative doses measured with TL were found to be continuously lower (on average 10 -20%) than the ones measured with OSL for the same sample and using the same luminescence reader From dose recovery tests, laboratory kinetic analysis and available meteorological parameters of the sample site for the past 100 years, it is concluded that the most likely reason for the discrepancy is thermal fading of the 210 degrees C TL peak. By applying a suitable model, an effective lifetime of the electron trap of the 210 degrees C TL peak of 200-700 years is estimated for the moderate continental climate at the sample site. It is concluded that for samples in regions of continental climate and directly exposed to sunlight, dose measurements using the 210 degrees C TL peak should be restricted to the last 50-60 years. Applications to older samples should only be considered if bricks are not directly exposed to sunlight or if the background dose is small compared to the anthropogenic dose, as the latter will have been acquired during shorter times and will thus not have been subjected to significant thermal fading

Luminescence dosimetry for evaluation of the external exposure in Metlino, upper Techa River valley, Southern Urals, Russia: Analysis of new results.

Luminescence dosimetry was applied in the former settlement of Metlino, Southern Urals, Russia as part of a full-scale study to validate the Techa River Dosimetry System (TRDS) 2016 for the upper Techa River region. The village, which was evacuated in 1956, was located 7 km downstream of the release point of liquid radioactive waste by the Mayak plutonium facility. Several brick samples were taken from north-eastern and south-eastern walls of the granary, facing the former Techa river shoreline and floodplain. Samples were all taken at the same height and measured at different depths into the brick. For the majority of brick samples, good Optically Stimulated Luminescence properties of the quartz grains were observed. In some cases, however, strong levels of sensitization and/or signal recuperation were encountered which necessitated adjustment in the measurement protocols. Anthropogenic doses in bricks varied from 1.5 to 6.6 Gy and the horizontal profiles along both walls showed significant variation, which is explained on a qualitative basis. A dose depth profile is observed for selected samples, which is different from the dose depth profile measured and simulated for samples from the north-western wall of the granary in previous studies. This is qualitatively explained by the differences in source configuration

Luminescence dosimetry in a contaminated settlement of the Techa River valley, Southern Urals, Russia.

Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dosimetry is applied to quartz extracted from bricks from a mill in a contaminated village (Muslyumovo) of the Techa River valley, Southern Urals, Russia, for the purpose of dose reconstruction. Previous works [Goksu et al., 2002. First international intercomparison of luminescence techniques using samples from the Techa river valley. Health Phys. 82, 94-101] have shown that the expected dose due to man-made sources of radiation in the bricks is in the same range as the background dose due to natural sources of radiation, therefore a precise estimate of the cumulative and background dose is of utmost importance. Cumulative doses could be assessed with OSL with a precision of around 4% and lie between 450 and 600 mGy. The background dose was carefully determined by a combination of laboratory measurements, in-situ gamma spectrometry and Monte Carlo modelling. The results show that the gamma-dose rate of the soil was overestimated and the fractional brick gamma-dose rate underestimated in previous studies, but that the overall gamma-dose rate was nearly correct, due to mutual compensation. The obtained anthropogenic doses in brick measured with OSL lie between 200 and 300 mGy, show variability between adjacent bricks within error limits for one spot but a significant difference for two samples is observed for another spot. A distinct dependency of measured dose upon sample height is observed, which is an indication of a source distribution, which extends over a large area and up to a certain depth into the soil and in which higher contaminated areas are located at a greater distance to the mill than lower contaminated areas. A measured dose depth profile is compared with previously published Monte Carlo calculations to verify the source energy

FISH analysis of translocations induced by chronic exposure to Sr radioisotopes: second set of analysis of the Techa River Cohort

Toxicogenetic