Measurements of external radiation and radioactivity in soil and air in Novozybkov, USSR

At the invitation of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a five-member team from the Environmental Measurements Laboratory performed an intensive survey of the town of Novozybkov, USSR to corroborate the levels of environmental contamination as part of an overall assessment of the radiological consequences of the Chernobyl accident. Novozybkov was selected as a principal study site within the Russian Federation because it was believed to be in an area that received relatively heavy fallout. The field work was conducted over a 2-week period during the summer of 1990. Over 1000 measurements of external radiation were performed using pressurized ionization chambers. The absorbed dose rate in air (nGy h{sup {minus}}1) outdoors from all sources (fallout plus natural background, including cosmic) averaged 821 for undistributed sites, 440 for gardens and other distributed areas, and 230 for paved surfaces. The indoor values averaged 159 for wooden houses, 121 for masonry houses, 93 for public buildings and workplaces, and 83 for apartment buildings.