Assessing internal exposures and the efficacy of countermeasures from whole body measurements

Traditional procedures for modelling the ingestion dose pathway combine environmental transfer models with human metabolic models in order to assess the doses received. In general, these models have been developed for specific ecological and socio-economic circumstances, rather than for globally-averaged conditions. Experiences which occurred following the Chernobyl accident have demonstrated that in the event of a large scale radiation accident it will be virtually impossible to monitor adequately all the radiologically significant components of human diet which may have become contaminated with radionuclides. This paper describes an internal dosimetry model based on the most widely available measurements following an accident: radiocesium measurements in soil and milk, and whole body measurements in humans. One application of the model to estimate ingestion doses received by inhabitants of the northern region of the Rovno Region in Ukraine is also described. In addition, this model enables the effectiveness of food Countermeasures to be estimated. This study formed part of Joint Study Programme 5 (JSP5) on pathway analysis and dose distributions and was jointly funded by the European Commission (EC) and Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)