Assessment of the system of ensurance of public radiation safety in the Russian Federation related to exposure to natural sources of ionizing radiation

The paper presents an assessment of the current state of the system of ensurance of public radiation safety in the Russian Federation related to exposure to natural sources of ionizing radiation. Summary: The regulatory and methodological documents regarding exposure to natural sources in force within the framework of the Russian sanitary legislation were analyzed. It is shown that for more than 20 years, the country has been operating a unique system for collecting, recording and analyzing data on the levels of all major natural sources of public exposure. The Federal databank of radiation doses to the public from exposure to natural and technologically enhanced radiation background contains the results of 2 549 785 ambient gamma dose rate measurements indoors in residential and public buildings and 3 742 296 measurements outdoors, 854 525 measurements of radon concentration indoors in residential and public buildings, and 270 026 measurements of activity concentration of natural radionuclides in drinking water, all taken in 20012024. It is shown that the average individual annual effective dose of public exposure to natural sources in the Russian Federation is 3.33 mSv, of which 1.97 mSv is the dose from inhalation of radon, thoron and their progeny. These results are consistent with the new global average data from the upcoming 2024/2025 UNSCEAR report. The paper also outlines the prospects for the development and modernization of the Russian regulatory and methodical documents related to public exposure to natural sources. Conclusion: The current regulatory system is a reliable tool for ensuring public radiation safety related to all regulated natural sources. The improvement of the regulatory framework, taking into account the standards and recommendations of international organizations, will make it possible to raise the Russian sanitary legislation to the level of modern global trends, while maintaining the achieved high levels of public radiation safety related to natural sources of radiation.

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