• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.467-474
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• 2014

The aim of this paper is to describe a relatively recent international agreement on the widely debated concepts of: (i) attributing effects to low dose radiation exposure situations that have occurred in the past and, (ii) inferring radiation risk to situations that are planned to occur in the future. An important global consensus has been recently achieved on these fundamental issues at the level of the highest international intergovernmental body: the General Assembly of the United Nations. The General Assembly has welcomed with appreciation a scientific report on attributing health effects to radiation exposure and inferring risks that had been prepared the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) following a formal request by the General Assembly.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제16권1호
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• pp.1-13
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• 1991

국내 12개 지역의 340여 실내에서 측정한 라돈농도로부터 단순한 수학적 폐선량 평가모형을 이용하여 주민의 실효선량당량을 평가하였다. 수동적 시간적분형 CR-39 라돈컵으로 1990년 4월부터 10월까지 $3{\sim}4$개월 동안 측정 한 실내의 라돈농도는 지역별로 $33.82{\sim}61.42 Bq/m^3$(평균 : $48.90 Bq/m^3$)의 분포를 보였으며, 이로 인한 라돈자핵종의 평형등가라 돈농도$(EEC_{Rn})$는 라돈과 자핵종간의 평형인자의 값 0.4를 적용했을 때 $13.53{\sim}24.57Bq/m^3$(평균 : $19.55 Bq/m^3$)으로 예상되었다. 국제방사선방어위원회의 폐모형에 근거한 본 연구의 폐선량 평가모형에서 유도된 단위 평형등가라돈농도의 피폭당 실효선량당량환산 인자는 $1.07{\times}10^{-5}\;mSv/Bq\;h\;m^{-3}$으로 국제방사선방어위원회나 국제연합 방사선영향평가 과학위원회(UNSCEAR)에서 권고한 값과 잘 일치하였다. 동 선량환산인자와 CR-39 라돈 컵으로 측정 한 실내 의 평균 평형등가라돈농도를 년간 $0.75 m^3/h$의 호흡율로 호흡한 것으로 가정했을 때, 주민이 받는 년평균 폐선량당량 및 실효선량당량은 갹각 20.90 mSv 및 1.25 mSv인 것으로 평가되었다. 동 피폭선량은 국제연합(UNSCEAR)에서 1988년에 발표한 일반인의 년평균 자연방사선피폭 실효선량당량인 2.40mSv의 거의 50%에 상당하였다.

• 원자력산업
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• 1112호통권10호
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• pp.52-55
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• 1982

$\lceil$원자방사선의 영향에 관한 UN과학위원회$\rfloor$ (UNSCEAR)는 최근 1982년 보고서를 정리했다. UN과학위원회의 보고서는 환경중의 방사성물질수준, 방사선의 신체적${\cdot}$유전적 영향 및 방사선의 위험도에 관한 가장 포괄적인 보고서로 평가받고 있다. 이번 보고서는 77년이 보고서이후 5년만에 나온 것으로서 최신 데이터를 수록하고 있다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제46권4호
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• pp.213-217
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• 2021

Background: Radiation exposure can occur as a result of occupational activities utilizing sources of radiation. The average level of occupational exposure is generally similar to the global average, but some workers receive more than this. In this study, the occupational exposure data for workers in Korea to check the recent trend of radiation exposure. Materials and Methods: The data collection and analysis are carried out by two separate periods based on the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) survey. One is the year 2003 to 2014 for a recent survey, and the other is 2015 to 2019. All available data were collected by annual reports from radiation dose registry organizations. Results and Discussion: The annual dose over the record level to the total workers did not change much compared with the total increasing number of workers in this period. The dose to the nuclear fuel cycle field has a tendency to decrease. It resulted from the efforts of radiation dose reduction with high technology introduced to this area. Also, it is important result that the radiation dose to the workers in radiography is remarkably reduced. Conclusion: The number of radiation workers and average doses were analyzed for occupational categories in Korea. It still needs cooperative efforts between the dose registry organizations for the efficient dose management of Korean radiation workers.

• 대한방사선치료학회지
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• 제9권1호
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• pp.1-7
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• 1997

다량의 방사선에 피폭되는 경우 인체에 해로운 영향을 미치는 것은 틀림이 없으나 미량의 방사선인 경우에는 다량의 방사선인 경우와 다른 효과를 나타내며 심지어 정반대의 영향을 나타내기도 한다고 볼 수 있으며 여러 역학조사에서 이러한 사실이 증명되고 있다. 1991년의 국제방사선방어기구(ICRP) 보고서 및 1994년의 UNSCEAR 보고서는 미량의 방사선에 대한 적응반응을 인정하고 있다. 일부 학자들은 소량의 방사선에 지속적으로 피폭(연간 1 rem)됨으로써 암사망률을 감소시킬 수 있다고 주장하면서 현재의 개념을 수정하여 피폭한계 및 법적 제한 등을 변경하여 환경방사능을 증가시킴으로써 향후 인류의 생활의 질을 향상시켜야 한다고 주장하고 있다.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.53-68
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• 2020

Background: International organizations such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) reported public exposure doses due to radionuclides released in the Fukushima nuclear accident a few years after the event. However, the reported doses were generally overestimated due to conservative assumptions such as a longer stay in deliberate areas designated for evacuation than the actual stay. After these reports had been published, more realistic dose values were reported by Japanese scientists. Materials and Methods: The present paper reviews those reports, including the most recently published articles; and summarizes estimated effective doses (external and internal) and issues related to their estimation. Results and Discussion: External dose estimation can be categorized as taking two approaches-estimation from ambient dose rate and peoples' behavior patterns-and measurements using personal dosimeters. The former approach was useful for estimating external doses in an early stage after the accident. The first 4-month doses were less than 2 mSv for most (94%) study subjects. Later on, individual doses came to be monitored by personal dosimeter measurements. On the basis of these measurements, the estimated median annual external dose was reported to be < 1 mSv in 2011 for 22 municipalities of Fukushima Prefecture. Internal dose estimation also can be categorized as taking two approaches: estimation from whole-body counting and estimation from monitoring of environmental samples such as radioactivity concentrations in food and drinking water. According to results by the former approach, committed effective dose due to ¹³⁴Cs and ¹³⁷Cs could be less than 0.1 mSv for most residents including those from evacuated areas. Conclusion: Realistic doses estimated by Japanese scientists indicated that the doses reported by WHO and UNSCEAR were generally overestimated. Average values for the first-year effective doses for residents in two affected areas (Namie Town and Iitate Village) were not likely to reach 10 mSv, the lower end of the doses estimated by WHO.

• Journal of Radiation Protection and Research
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• 제42권2호
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• pp.130-140
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• 2017

Background: With the need for a domestic level 3 probabilistic safety assessment (PSA), it is essential to develop a Korea-specific code. Health effect assessments study radiation-induced impacts; in particular, long-term health effects are evaluated in terms of cancer risk. The objective of this study was to analyze the latest cancer risk models developed by foreign organizations and to compare the methodology of how they were developed. This paper also provides suggestions regarding the development of Korean cancer risk models. Materials and Methods: A review of cancer risk models was carried out targeting the latest models: the NUREG model (1993), the BEIR VII model (2006), the UNSCEAR model (2006), the ICRP 103 model (2007), and the U.S. EPA model (2011). The methodology of how each model was developed is explained, and the cancer sites, dose and dose rate effectiveness factor (DDREF) and mathematical models are also described in the sections presenting differences among the models. Results and Discussion: The NUREG model was developed by assuming that the risk was proportional to the risk coefficient and dose, while the BEIR VII, UNSCEAR, ICRP, and U.S. EPA models were derived from epidemiological data, principally from Japanese atomic bomb survivors. The risk coefficient does not consider individual characteristics, as the values were calculated in terms of population-averaged cancer risk per unit dose. However, the models derived by epidemiological data are a function of sex, exposure age, and attained age of the exposed individual. Moreover, the methodologies can be used to apply the latest epidemiological data. Therefore, methodologies using epidemiological data should be considered first for developing a Korean cancer risk model, and the cancer sites and DDREF should also be determined based on Korea-specific studies.

• 한국환경보건학회지
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• 제45권2호
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• pp.99-112
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• 2019

Objective: This study aims to analyze the characteristics of airborne radon and thoron level ($Bq/m^3$) generated from household products containing monazites, and estimate the effective doses (mSv/yr). Method: Radon & Thoron detector EQF3220 was used to monitor real-time airborne radon and thoron level ($Bq/m^3$), and their daughters ($Bq/m^3$) were recorded every two hours. Effective doses (mSv/yr) for radon and thoron were estimated according to models developed by International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). Results: The average levels of radon and thoron were $87.8Bq/m^3$ (range; $20.8-156.3Bq/m^3$) and $1,347.5Bq/m^3$ (range; $4-5,839.7Bq/m^3$), respectively. The average equilibrium factors (F) were 0.23 and 0.007, respectively. The levels of radon progeny were far higher than that thoron. Latex mattress showed the highest F (0.38). The average effective doses were estimated to be ICRP (1.9 mSv/yr) and UNSCER (1.3 mSv/yr) for radon and UNSCEAR (1.6 mSv/yr) for thoron. Conclusions: Our results have far exceeded the allowable effective dose for general population (1 mSv/yr). The government's actions such as the ban of use of consumer products containing monazite and the establishment of surveillance system to evaluate health effects for the people affected should be taken as early as possible.

• 한국방사선학회논문지
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• 제17권2호
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• pp.267-275
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• 2023

전 세계적으로 방사선종사자들의 피폭 기록은 관심의 대상이며 피폭이 일어나는 분야에 대한 분석이 수행되고 있다. 한국에서는 유관부처에 따라 보건복지부, 농림축산식품부, 원자력안전위원회에서 종사자들의 피폭을 11개 업종으로 나누어 기록을 수집 분석하고 있다. 그러나 이러한 분류 체계는 유엔방사선영향과학위원회를 비롯한 주요 국가들의 분류 체계와는 정합성이 부족하다. 국내의 종사자 피폭 분류 체계는 명확한 분류 기준이 없고 업종 특성 등을 반영해주지 못하고 있다. 유엔방사선영향과학위원회의 분류 체계를 바탕으로 국내의 분류 체계를 핵주기 분야, 의료분야, 산업분야, 그 외 분야(교육/연구, 군사/공공)의 5개 대분류 체계와 그에 따른 세 분류 및 직군 분류를 본 연구를 통해 제안하였다.

• Nuclear Engineering and Technology
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• 제55권7호
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• pp.2388-2394
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• 2023

The radioactivity concentration of environmental radionuclides was analyzed for soil and sand at eight locations within a radius of 255 m centered on the Dongnam Institute of Radiological & Medical Science (DIRAMS), Korea. The average activity concentrations of ⁴⁰K, ¹³⁷Cs, ²²⁶Ra, and ²³²Th were 661.1 Bq/kg-dry, 0.9 Bq/kg-dry, 21.9 Bq/kg-dry, and 11.1 Bq/kg-dry, respectively. The activity of ⁴⁰K and ¹³⁷Cs was lower than the 3-year (2017-2019) average reported by the Korea Institute of Nuclear Safety, respectively. Due to the nature of granite-rich soil, the radioactivity of ⁴⁰K was 0.6-fold higher than in other countries, while ¹³⁷Cs was in the normal fluctuation range (15-30 Bq/kg-dry) of the concentration of radioactive fallout from nuclear tests. The activity of ²²⁶Ra and ²³²Th was lower than in Korean soils reported by the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR). The average activity concentrations of ²³²Th and ⁴⁰K for the soil and sand samples from DIRAMS were within the range specified by UNSCEAR in 2000. The radium equivalent activity and internal and external hazard index values were below the recommended limits (1 mSv/y). These radionuclide concentration (²²⁶Ra, ²³²Th, ⁴⁰K, and ¹³⁷Cs) data can be used for regional environmental monitoring and ecological impact assessments of nuclear power plant accidents.