Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2025. Vol. 70. № 3

DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2025-70-3-34-47

N.K. Shandala, A.S. Samoylov, V.A. Seregin, S.M. Kiselev,
Yu.E. Kvacheva, E.G. Metlyaev, O.A. Kochetkov, V.N. Klochkov,
A.V. Titov, A.E. Kolyshkin, M.P. Semenova

Radiation Health Physics to Assure Radiation Safety and Protection of the Public and Personnel:
Case Study of the SRC-FMBC

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

Contact person: N.K. Shandala, e-mail: Этот адрес электронной почты защищен от спам-ботов. У вас должен быть включен JavaScript для просмотра.

ABSTRACT

Purpose: To describe, based on our original innovative developments, the role of radiation health physics in assuring radiation safety and protection of a) the public living near operating, decommissed and remediated radiation hazardous facilities and sites; and b) nuclear wor-
kers .

Material and methods: The objects of the study included radiation hazardous facilities at different stages of the life cycle (operating, decommissioned, remediated), nuclear and uranium legacy sites, where samples of environmental and marine media (water, soil, vegetation, algae, bottom sediments) were collected, as well as local foodstuffs and drinking water. The samples were examined using dosimetric, radiometric, gamma-spectrometric and radiochemical methods. When studying the health status of the public living in the vicinity of these facilities, methods of radiation epidemiology were used, supplemented by our original innovative development of the health assessment.

Results: The conducted long-term studies allowed not only characterizing the facilities and sites under study, but also identification the features of the spatial and temporal distribution of radioactive materials including at the nuclear legacy sites. The presence of large volumes of artificially contaminated soils has been detected, which in some cases are classified as radioactive waste in terms of their activity values. It has been shown that man-made contamination spreads into ground waters as well as into local areas of coastal marine waters. The results of public health monitoring allow us to state that radiation hazardous facilities in Russia are operating safely. Five innovative hardware, methodological and dosimetric complexes have been created to support radiation safety of workers.

Conclusions: The radiation health physics is the radiation safety science developed by some generations of scientists and professionals of the SRC-FMBC. Today, this science helps to support the whole cycle of medical and health physics safety of nuclear workers and the public living in the areas affected by nuclear facilities – from the science based development to its implementation in practice. 

The interdisciplinary approach implemented in the SRC-FMBC helps to comprehensively solve many difficult tasks of radiation safety and protection of the public and workers.

Keywords: radiation health physics, radiation health physics monitoring, radiation safety and protection of public and workers, radio-ecological survey, health state assessment, regulation, comprehensive approach, A.I. Burnazyan FMBC

For citation: Shandala NK, Samoylov AS, Seregin VA, Kiselev SM, Kvacheva YuE, Metlyaev EG, Kochetkov OA, Klochkov VN, Titov AV, Kolyshkin AE, Semenova MP. Radiation Health Physics to Assure Radiation Safety and Protection of the Public and Personnel: Case Study of the SRC-FMBC. Medical Radiology and Radiation Safety. 2025;70(3):34–47. (In Russian). DOI:10.33266/1024-6177-2025-70-3-34-47

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

Financing. The work was financed under the Federal Target Programs “Nuclear and Radiation Safety for 2016-2020 and for the period until 2030” and “Industrial Decommissioning and Disposal of Weapons and Military Equipment of the Nuclear Complex”.

Contribution. Shandala N.K. – study conception and design, radiation health physics data collection and processing, writing the text; Samoylov A.S. – article conception and editing the text; Seregin V.A. – radiation health physics data collection and conducting radiation health physics monitoring at the uranium legacy sites in Central Asia; Kiselev S.M. – data collection on radiation health physics monitoring at the Russian nuclear legacy sites and on the public exposure assessment due to radon;  Kvacheva Yu.E. – data collection on bio banking and medical nuclear forensics; Metlyaev E.G. – data collection on assessing the health status of the public and iodine prophylaxis; Kochetkov O.A. – data collection on radiation safety and protection of workers and regulatory framework for radiation safety; Klochkov V.N. – data collection on radiation safety and protection of workers and regulatory framework for radiation safety; Titov A.V. – collection and processing of data on radiation health physics monitoring at uranium legacy sites in Russia and Central Asia; A.E. Kolyshkin – data collection on nuclear power plants and comprehensive health physics assessment of occupational exposure; Semenova M.P. – data collection on radiation health physics monitoring at Russian uranium legacy sites, translation into English and text editing. All authors are responsible for approval of the final version of the article and integrity of all parts of the article.

Article received: 20.02.2025. Accepted for publication: 25.03.2025.