Intervention criteria in CIS, risk assessments and non-radiological factors in decision-making. EU-CIS joint study project 2

An extensive radiation risk estimation methodology has recently been developed in Russia and used for estimates of risk in exposed populations in the republics of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine. Results based on demographic data for the three republics are presented and compared with risk estimates from the EU risk model ASQRAD. The intervention criteria in the CIS republics have been evolving since the Chernobyl accident. The development of criteria in each of the three republics has been analyzed and the CIS-criteria have been compared to international guidance on intervention. After a nuclear or radiological emergency both radiological and non-radiological protection factors will influence the level of protective actions being introduced. The role of non-radiological protection factors in the overall optimization of health protection is addressed. It is argued that optimization of the overall health protection is not a question of developing radiation protection philosophy to fully include socio-psychological factors. It is rather a question of including these factors - in parallel with the radiological protection factors - in cooperation between radiation protection experts and psychological specialists under the responsibility of the decision maker.