[en] The need for assessing internal radiation doses in emergency situations is evident. Studies done in Ukraine, Belarus and the southern parts of Russia after the Chernobyl accident have shown an unexpected increase of thyroid cancers in children and young people. Direct measurements give both individual results and results for groups. In the past two years, Radiation and nuclear safety authority - STUK has obtained 35 monitors for thyroid measurements in the field conditions. The monitors work as spectrometers, which makes it possible to do real time spectrum analysis in the field

[en] In a preliminary study, in vivo skull measurements and in vitro urine measurements of ²¹⁰Pb and ^natU have been performed to find out the individual, chronic exposure to waterborne natural radionuclides of a small group of Finnish people. For their domestic water, the studied individuals use water from drilled wells containing elevated concentrations of natural uranium and its daughter nuclides (^234,235,238U, ²²²Rn, ^226,228Ra, ²¹⁰Po,²¹⁰Pb). Enhanced ²¹⁰Pb and ²³⁵U activities were observed in several persons. A positive correlation is observed between the U concentration in urine (μg d^-1) and the number of counts (cpm) in the gamma ray energy peaks originating from the decay of ²³⁵U and ²³⁴Th respectively. Calibration of the detector set-up and the determination of background sources are in progress. (author)

[en] Emergency response plans have long been focused on accidents at nuclear power plants. Recently, the malevolent use of radiation aimed at creating disruption in the society has been considered as a possible threat. In this kind of emergency situations casualties will most likely be members of the public and the number of affected people can vary from a few to mass casualties. There is an evident need for rapid measurements of large groups of internally contaminated people. Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority (STUK) in Finland has obtained new monitors for thyroid and simple whole-body measurements in field conditions as a part of the continuous improving of emergency preparedness. The new monitors consist of a NaI(Tl) detector and a control unit. The monitors work as spectrometers allowing real-time spectrum analysis in the field. (authors)

[en] The need for assessing internal radiation doses in emergency situations is evident. Internal exposure can be assessed using direct measurement results or by using information on activity concentrations in inhaled air and in foodstuffs combined with inhalation and consumption data. As a part of the continuous improving of emergency preparedness in Finland, S.T.U.K. - Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority has obtained 35 monitors for thyroid measurements in field conditions and initiated a project to revise the radiation measurement equipment in local food and environmental laboratories. (authors)

[en] In-beam γ-ray and γ-γ coincidence measurements have been made for the very neutron deficient nucleus ¹⁷⁶Hg using the recoil-decay tagging (RDT) technique. The irregular yrast sequence observed to I = 10 ℎ indicates that the prolate intruder band, seen in heavier Hg isotopes near the neutron midshell, is crossing the nearly spherical ground-state band of ¹⁷⁶Hg above I = 6 ℎ. (author)

[en] The gas-filled recoil separator RITU, combined with Ge detector arrays at the Department of Physics, University of Jyvaeskylae (JYFL), Finland, has successfully been employed in recoil-decay-tagging (RDT) experiments for probing structures of several very neutron-deficient heavy nuclei for the first time. In this paper new data for Hg, Pb and Po nuclei are summarized and discussed. These data shed new light on the behaviour and role of the proton multiparticle-multihole intruder states in nuclei at the 82< N<126 mid-shell and beyond. (author)

[en] Full text: According to the OMINEX (Optimization of Monitoring for Internal Exposure) project urine monitoring is the preferred method to determine exposure to soluble compounds of uranium in workplaces. For the poorly soluble compound lung and faecal monitoring are the most important methods. However, the interpretation of a measured value of a worker requires knowledge of the natural uranium excretion and its dependence on food and water supply in use. In Finland the concentrations of natural uranium in drinking water have been observed to vary markedly depending on the location. Exceptionally high concentrations have been measured in the granite areas of Southern Finland. Consequently high concentrations of natural uranium have been observed in the urine and hair samples of people using water from their own drilled wells. According to a study by P. Kurttio et al. the uranium concentration in urine varied from 1 to 5650 ng/I among this group. The significance of hair and nails as excretion paths of uranium ingested in drinking water was discussed in a very recent study. The high concentrations of uranium in hair was noticed also in the continuation of the study which was made to demonstrate the feasibility of estimating cumulative exposure of individuals to natural uranium and long-lived radon progeny by measuring the amount of natural uranium isotopes and ²¹⁰Pb in their skeleton. In order to get better knowledge of the natural uranium excretion, a study to investigate the excretion of uranium in human urine and hair of occupationally non-exposed subjects is under way. (author)

[en] The Finnish population is exposed to ionising radiation from number of sources, both natural and man-made. In this report the updated mean annual effective dose for Finnish people is presented together with the methods used in the dose estimation. The minimum and maximum values of the doses from different sources of ionising radiation are also reported. In 2004, the mean effective dose for a Finn was 3.7 millisievert (mSv). More than half of the dose, 2.0 mSv, is from indoor radon exposure. The dose from indoor radon is estimated using the mean radon concentration in Finnish dwellings (120 Bq/m3) determined in a random sampling study in 1990-1991. Individual annual doses from radon may reach a few hundred millisieverts. Roughly one fourth of the annual effective dose, 1.1 mSv, is caused by the natural background radiation. The internal dose from ingestion and inhalation of terrestrial radionuclides is 0.36 mSv. The estimated annual effective dose due to external radiation from the ground and materials of construction is 0.45 mSv. The dose rate inside Finnish dwellings was determined in 1990-1991, at the same time as the mean radon concentration The dose outdoors is based on the gamma-ray measurements done in 1978-1982. Cosmic radiation also contributes to the natural background radiation which causes annually an effective dose of 0.33 mSv in Finland. Medical uses of radiation account for the largest man-made contribution to the overall total. The estimated mean dose to a Finn from diagnostic nuclear medicine procedures was 0.03 mSv in 2003. The new estimation is based on the study of the usage of diagnostic nuclear medicine in Finland done by the Radiation and Nuclear Safety Authority in 2003. The mean annual effective dose from medical x-rays has been determined the previous time in the middle of 1990s. The result of the review was 0.5 mSv/a. (orig.)

[en] Internal doses can be assessed using results from direct measurements or by using information on activity concentrations in inhaled air and in foodstuffs combined with inhalation and consumption data. Whenever possible direct measurements should be done as soon as possible after an alert to give support for decision making and to reassure the general public. Experiences from accidents where many people have been internally contaminated by radionuclides have demonstrated the need of rapid measurements of large groups of people. The measurements are important both for control of the contamination situation and for later dose assessment. In the Nordic countries much work has been put down on quality assurance of direct measurements, mostly whole-body counting and on training of dose assessment. This work has been partly funded by NKS (Nordic Nuclear Safety Research). A good network of Nordic specialists has also been created. Nordic emergency preparedness exercises have not included training of rapid measurements of people, thyroid monitoring for I-131 and whole-body for Cs-137, in the early phase of an emergency. There should not be a big gap between planned resources and actual available resources in emergency situations. All planning and instructions are of no use if there are not instruments and people trained to use them available in a sudden accidental situation

[en] Excited states have been identified for the first time in ¹⁸⁴Pb, the first even-even Pb isotope beyond the 82< N<126 mid-shell, using the recoil-decay tagging (RDT) technique. A collective band built on the first-excited 2⁺ state has been observed. This resembles those seen in ^186,188Pb and the Hg isotones, and can thus be associated with a prolate-deformed shape. Variable moment of inertia (VMI) fits of the prolate 0⁺ level energies in ^184,186,188Pb indicate that the minimum appears at N=103, the same neutron number at which the corresponding minimum in Hg isotopes is observed. (orig.)