Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2009, 6, 174-199; doi:10.3390/ijerph6010174 OPEN ACCESS International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ISSN 1660-4601 www.mdpi.com/journal/ijerph Review Overview of Dose Assessment Developments and the Health of Riverside Residents Close to the “Mayak” PA Facilities, Russia William J.F. Standring *, Mark Dowdall and Per Strand Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority, PO Box 55, N-1332 Østerås, Norway E-Mails: mark.dowdall@nrpa.no (M. D.); per.strand@nrpa.no (P. S.) * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed; E-Mail: william.standring@nrpa.no; Tel. +47- 67162646; Fax: +47-67147407 Received: 3 December 2008 / Accepted: 7 January 2008 / Published: 9 January 2009 Abstract: The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) has been involved in studies related to the Mayak PA and the consequences of activities undertaken at the site for a number of years. This paper strives to present an overview of past and present activities at the Mayak PA and subsequent developments in the quantification of health effects on local populations caused by discharges of radioactive waste into the Techa River. Assessments of doses to affected populations have relied on the development of dose reconstruction techniques for both external and internal doses. Contamination levels are typically inhomogeneous and decrease with increasing distance from the discharge point. Citations made in this paper give a comprehensive, though not exhaustive, basis for further reading about this topic. Keywords: Mayak; Dose assessment; River Techa populations. 1. Introduction The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority (NRPA) has been involved in studies related to the Mayak Production Association (Mayak PA) and the consequences of activities undertaken at the site for a number of years. The NRPA involvement has included the Joint Norwegian Russian Investigation (JNRI), the Joint Norwegian Russian Expert Group (JNREG) and working on projects like “Time-Dependent Optimalization of Strategies for Countermeasure Use to Reduce Population Radiation Dose and Reclaim Abandoned Land” (RECLAIM, EC funded 1994-1998) and the European