Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026. Vol. 71. № 2

DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-5-12

A.N. Tsarev, V.I. Pustovoit

Improving Psychophysiological Support of Nuclear Industry Personnel by Integrating Modern Diagnostic Methods

A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center, Moscow, Russia

Contact person: Alexey Nikolayevich Tsarev, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Purpose: Improving the system of psychophysiological support of personnel employed at nuclear power facilities. Modern approaches to psychophysiological examination aimed at assessment of professional reliability and adaptation potential of the workers employed under conditions of high cognitive and emotional load are analyzed. The necessity of complex accounting of central nervous system properties, including strength, mobility and equilibrium of nervous processes, for increasing the objectivity of professional selection and monitoring the functional state of specialists is substantiated.

Material and methods: Special attention is paid to the analysis of existing methods of psychophysiological examination, among which there are tests for simple and complex sensorimotor reaction, the method “Reaction to a moving object”, as well as coefficients of balance of nervous processes. The comparative analysis of traditional and instrumental methods of diagnostics of nervous system properties is carried out, their limitations and disadvantages influencing the accuracy of psychophysiological state estimation are revealed. The necessity of expanding the range of diagnostic parameters by integrating modern computerized methods providing quantitative assessment of functional capabilities of the nervous system has been substantiated.

Promising directions for improving the system are proposed, including the introduction of computerized techniques for diagnosing the strength of nervous processes, the use of neuropsychological tests for in-depth analysis of psychophysiological characteristics, as well as the development of integral scales for assessing the functional state of workers. The possibilities of creating a unified information-analytical system for monitoring psychophysiological state, providing an objective account of individual characteristics of workers and a personalized approach to the distribution of professional loads are considered.

Conclusion: The results of the study indicate the high importance of taking into account psychophysiological characteristics during professional selection and adaptation of personnel to specific working conditions in the nuclear industry. Implementation of the proposed measures will increase the reliability and efficiency of professional activity, minimize the influence of human factor on the safety of technological processes, as well as reduce the risks of professional burnout and psychosomatic disorders.

Keywords: personnel, nuclear industry, psychophysiological examination, professional selection, nervous system, functional reliability

For citation: Tsarev AN, Pustovoit VI. Improving Psychophysiological Support of Nuclear Industry Personnel by Integrating Modern Diagnostic Methods. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026;71(2):5–12. DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-5-12

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 PDF (RUS) Full-text article (in Russian)

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Financing. The study had no sponsorship.

Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.

Article received: 20.01.2026. Accepted for publication: 25.02.2026.

Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026. Vol. 71. № 2

DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-18-25

A.A. Kosenkov, N.A. Metlyaeva, E.V. Goloborodko, G.G. Erofeev, 
V.V. Korenkov, S.N. Lukyanova

Dynamics of Psychological Adaptation in Patients with Acute Radiation Sickness: From the Acute Phase to 15–17 Years after the Chernobyl Accident

A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center, Moscow, Russia

Contact person: A.A.Kosenkov, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To analyze the characteristics of psychological adaptation in patients during the acute phase of radiation sickness and in the long-term aftermath of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant accident.

Material and methods: The study is based on the results of psychodiagnostic assessments of three patients who suffered from acute radiation sickness of grade I (one case) and grade II (two cases) following the Chernobyl accident. The data were obtained by the authors independently of each other in May-June 1986 and 15‒17 years later, and were merged in 2025. To examine personality traits and current mental state at both time points, two personality inventories were used: (1) the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI, Russian adaptation) and (2) the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF, Russian adaptation).

Results: At least one examination (in acute phase or 15‒17 years later) revealed abnormally elevated personality features in all three patients (values on one or more clinical MMPI scales are equal to 70 T-points or more). In two cases, such findings were present both during the acute phase and 15–17 years later. In two of the three patients, these signs of pronounced intrapsychic adaptation strain were accompanied by negative outcomes on the 16PF: high anxiety, dissatisfaction with the situation and one’s role in it, self-blame, frustration-related tension, and reduced behavioral integration. Analysis of the three cases revealed some general trends observed in the long-term period after acute radiation sickness. These included increasing dissatisfaction, tension, and need for support (MMPI F scale), a rise in depressive tendencies (MMPI D scale) either in absolute terms or relative to the Ma scale (Hypomania), and a decline in logical reasoning ability (16PF Factor B), though it remained within average or above-average levels. Nevertheless, the dynamics of psychological adaptation over the 15–17 years were highly individual. Due to the small sample size, the findings should be considered preliminary and require further verification.

Keywords: Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant, accident, acute radiation sickness, psychological adaptation, psychological consequences, long-term consequences

For citation: Kosenkov AA, Metlyaeva NA, Goloborodko EV, Erofeev GG, Korenkov VV, Lukyanova SN. Dynamics of Psychological Adaptation in Patients with Acute Radiation Sickness: From the Acute Phase to 15–17 Years after the Chernobyl Accident. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026;71(2):18–25. (In Russian). DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-18-25 

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 PDF (RUS) Full-text article (in Russian)

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Financing. The study had no sponsorship.

Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.

Article received: 20.01.2026. Accepted for publication: 25.02.2026.

Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026. Vol. 71. № 2

DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-13-17

V.Yu. Soloviev, A.Yu. Bushmanov, M.A. Karamullin, E.A. Gudkov, 
L.Yu. Mershin, I.A. Galstyan, A.S. Kretov, N.A. Metlyaeva

Perculiarities of Post-Irradiation Dynamics of the Absolute Peripheral Blood Neutrophil Count Following the Exposure to Gamma-Neutron Rays in Victims of Criticality Accidents

A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center, Moscow, Russia

Contact person: Vladimir Yurievich Soloviev, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABSTRACT 

Purpose: Was to investigate the post-radiation dynamics of peripheral blood neutrophil count following gamma-neutron irradiation resulting from a spontaneous chain reaction (SCR).

Material and methods: Databases (on radiation accidents and acute radiation sickness (ARS)) from the information resource of the A.I. Burnazyan Federal Medical Biophysical Center of the Federal Medical and Biological Agency of Russia were used for the study. Data from four similar radiation accidents involving loss of criticality control and the formation of a spontaneous chain reaction (SCR) were reviewed: two accidents in 1971 and two accidents in 1968. SCR accidents are characterized by the predominance of a significant neutron component in the near-field gamma-neutron spectrum. A total of 11 people were injured in these accidents. The irradiation conditions and clinical and laboratory findings of ARS with signs of hematopoiesis recovery in seven victims of these accidents were analyzed.

Results: It was shown that the irradiation conditions of victims in these radiation accidents differed significantly from the «classical» model of uniform general irradiation, with uneven dose distribution across the body volume of the exposed individuals. Changes in neutrophil count in the peripheral blood of victims of radiation accidents with sequential chain reaction (SCR) exhibited distinctive features compared to the known kinetics for uniform general irradiation. The phases of initial increase, initial decrease, abortive rise, and secondary decline in neutrophil count did not differ in onset and duration under uniform and uneven irradiation, but the recovery phase in the latter case occurred 6‒8 days earlier, shortening the most dangerous minimum phase, which occurs during the peak of the bone marrow form of ARS. This suggests greater preservation of the endogenous pool of hematopoietic stem cells and their progeny with uneven dose distribution throughout the body of the victims, which ensures earlier restoration of endogenous hematopoiesis during the peak of ARS. Despite the combined nature of radiation injury and the additional formation of local radiation-induced skin lesions due to exposure to the neutron component of the radiation, the acute period of ARS was characterized by a more favorable course of infectious manifestations of the injury.

Keywords: radiation accident, SCR, self-reactive crises, non-uniform gamma-neutron irradiation, ARS, peak period, neutrophil kinetics

For citation: Soloviev VYu, Bushmanov AYu, Karamullin MA, Gudkov EA, Mershin LYu, Galstyan IA, Kretov AS, Metlyaeva NA. Perculiarities of Post-Irradiation Dynamics of the Absolute Peripheral Blood Neutrophil Count Following the Exposure to Gamma-Neutron Rays in Victims of Criticality Accidents. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026;71(2):13–17. DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-13-17

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 PDF (RUS) Full-text article (in Russian)

Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Financing. The study had no sponsorship.

Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.

Article received: 20.01.2026. Accepted for publication: 25.02.2026.

Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026. Vol. 71. № 2

DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-26-32

T.V. Azizova, M.B. Moseeva, E.S. Grigoryeva

Analysis of Cerebrovascular Disease Incidence Risk
in the Cohort of Mayak Production Association Workers

Southern Urals Federal Medical Biophysics Research Centre, Ozyorsk, Russia

Contact person: T.V. Azizova, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Abstract

Purpose: To estimate cerebrovascular disease (CeVD) incidence risk in the cohort of Mayak Production Association (PA) workers occupationally chronically exposed to ionizing radiation.

Material and methods: Study cohort included 22237 Mayak PA workers. Information about occupational history as well as external gamma- and internal alpha-radiation doses absorbed in liver were obtained from the “Mayak Workers Dosimetry System – 2013”. Medical data and data on risk factors as of the end of 2018 were obtained from the “Clinic” medical dosimetry database. Relative risk (RR) and excess RR (ERR) per unit of external or internal dose adjusted for other factors were estimated by the maximum likelihood method using AMFIT module of EPICURE software.

Results: 9469 cases of CeVD (I60–I69 ICD-10 codes) were identified during the follow-up period. Analysis revealed ERR per 1 Gy of external gamma-radiation dose absorbed in liver statistically significantly above zero: 0.37 (95 % confidence interval, CI, 0.27–0.47) among males and 0.47 (95 % CI 0.31–0.66) among females over the whole dose range. ERR/Gy estimate for external exposure statistically significantly decreased with increasing workers’ attained age (males and females) and with increasing employment duration (females). Estimates of ERR per 1 Gy of internal alpha-radiation dose absorbed in liver were also statistically significantly above zero, i.e. 0.31 (95 % CI 0.10–0.59) among males and 0.32 (95 % CI 0.11–0.61) among females over the whole dose range. There were no heterogeneity between ERR/Gy estimates for CeVD incidence in relation to internal exposure dose between attained age groups either among males or females. While there were heterogeneity in ERR/Gy estimates for CeVD incidence in relation to employment duration in the whole cohort and among females; at this ERR/Gy for internal exposure among females statistically significantly decreased with increasing employment duration. It was shown that risk estimate was significantly influenced by the adjustment for another dose in case of combined exposure and to a lesser extent by the adjustments for non-radiation factors.

Conclusion: The present study of Mayak PA workers revealed statistically significant relationship between CeVD incidence and total external gamma-radiation or internal alpha-radiation dose absorbed in liver. 

Keywords: cerebrovascular diseases, risk, incidence, chronic occupational radiation exposure, PA Mayak

For citation: Azizova TV, Moseeva MB, Grigoryeva ES. Analysis of Cerebrovascular Disease Incidence Risk in the Cohort of Mayak Production Association Workers. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2026;71(2):26–32. (In Russian). DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2026-71-2-26-32

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Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Financing. The study had no sponsorship.

Contribution. Article was prepared with equal participation of the authors.

Article received: 20.01.2026. Accepted for publication: 25.02.2026.