For some workers, both internal and external doses were significant. The worker population, in contrast to U.S. radiation worker populations, includes a large number of women as well as men. These are examples of other aspects that have the potential to provide further insights into radiation health effects in humans. Underlying this are the extensive health records for the workers maintained by the Russian government since the beginning of operations of the Mayak plant. Health records also exist for many members of the surrounding population who were exposed to radiation as a result of operations and accidents at the Mayak complex.
Dose reconstruction is a challenge, especially for the population, but it is proving feasible.
As you can see, the research opportunity is a great one. Research is clearly needed to better describe radiation health effects particularly at the radiation levels subject to regulatory effort. In addition to human studies, molecular studies promise to shed further light. The National Research Council has been asked whether sufficient new data exist to warrant a reassessment of health risks resulting from exposure to low levels of radiation. Such a study should begin as soon as possible and is expected to take about 36 months to complete.