30 Years of Scientific Achievements for International Radiological Protection: Summary of the Southern Urals Health Studies Program
Office of Environment, Health, Safety & Security
June 12, 2024
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By: Joey Zhou
The International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) Workshop
30 Years of Scientific Achievements for International Radiological Protection: Summary of the Southern Urals Health Studies Program
On May 24-25, the International Congress of Radiological Protection (ICRP) held a hybrid workshop titled “30 years of Scientific Achievements for International Radiological Protection: Summary of the Southern Urals Health Studies Program” in Vienna, Austria. As part of the graceful shutdown of the Department of Energy (DOE) Russian Health Studies Program (RHSP), EHSS-13 is working to ensure that 30 years-worth of important research is adequately preserved so that it can continue to be used for DOE radiation protection needs. The RHSP was a binational collaborative scientific effort managed by DOE and overseen by the U.S.-Russian Federation Joint Coordinating Committee for Radiation Effects Research (JCCRER). Established in 1994, the JCCRER implemented a cooperation agreement signed by U.S. and Russian officials to evaluate health risks from ionizing radiation for workers and communities near former Russian nuclear sites through collaborative research. Data from the RHSP includes studies on the workforce of the Mayak production association (PA) and on the residents along the Techa river contaminated by Mayak PA radioactive releases. The studies have included approximately 30,000 monitored nuclear facility workers and over 60,000 members of the affected public in the region, with up to 75 years of multi-generational follow-up.
More than 550 people from over 96 countries registered for the hybrid workshop that summarized key scientific advances and findings of the dosimetric and epidemiological studies, described how findings have been directly incorporated in ICRP recommendations, as well as the areas of potentially productive future research. Research results from the DOE RHSP have been directly used by at least two ICRP committees , five ICRP Task Groups, and incorporated into at least seven ICRP Reports and Guidance Documents. Given the thirty-year history of the joint program, the workshop contributed to the synthesis and recording the past contributions to better understand the relationships between ionizing radiation exposure and health effects, as well as knowledge dissemination of these important scientific results.
More About This Author
Joey Zhou is the RHSP Program Manager at the Office of Domestic and International Health Studies in DOE’s Office of Environment, Health, Safety and Security.