Measurement and comparison of individual external doses of high-school students living in Japan, France, Poland and Belarus -- the "D-shuttle" project --

TL;DR

This study measured and compared external radiation doses among high school students in Japan, France, Poland, and Belarus using personal dosimeters, finding that doses in Fukushima and Belarus are comparable to background levels elsewhere.

Contribution

It provides a comparative analysis of individual external radiation doses across multiple countries using personal dosimeters, including Fukushima post-accident data.

Findings

Doses in Fukushima are within background radiation levels.

Doses in Belarus are comparable to other regions.

Personal external doses are consistent with background radiation estimates.

Abstract

Twelve high schools in Japan (of which six are in Fukushima Prefecture), four in France, eight in Poland and two in Belarus cooperated in the measurement and comparison of individual external doses in 2014. In total 216 high-school students and teachers participated in the study. Each participant wore an electronic personal dosimeter "D-shuttle" for two weeks, and kept a journal of his/her whereabouts and activities. The distributions of annual external doses estimated for each region overlap with each other, demonstrating that the personal external individual doses in locations where residence is currently allowed in Fukushima Prefecture and in Belarus are well within the range of estimated annual doses due to the background radiation level of other regions/countries.