Data of ESR dosimetry study of population in the vicinity of Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site

The method of electron spin resonance (ESR) dosimetry was used to human tooth enamel to obtain individual absorbed doses of population of settlements in the vicinity of the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site (SNTS), Kazakhstan. The distances between investigated settlements and Ground Zero (SNTS) are in the range 70 - 200 km from SNTS. Most of settlements (Dolon, Mostik, Bodene) are located near the central axis of radioactive fallout trace from the most contaminating surface nuclear test, which was conducted in 29, August 1949. The other settlements located close to radioactive fallout trace as a result of surface nuclear tests in 24, August 1956 (Ust-Kamenogorsk, Znamnenka, Shemonaikha, Glubokoe, Tavriya, Gagarino), in 7, August 1962 (Kurchatov). Semipalatinsk city was included to investigation as a biggest city which located close to SNTS.

This method was applied to human tooth enamel to obtain individual absorbed doses of residents of Makanchi, Urdzhar and Taskesken settlements located near Kazakhstan-Chinese border (about 400 km to South-East from Semipalatinsk nuclear test site (SNTS) and about 1000 km from The Lop Nor Nuclear Weapons Test Base (China)). Since the ground and atmospheric nuclear tests (1964-1981) at Lop Nor, the people residing in these settlements have believed to be exposed heavily by radioactive fallout. Tooth samples were extracted according to medical reasons in a course of ordinary dental treatment. Kokpekty was chosen as control and was not subjected to any radioactive contamination and located 400 km to the Southeast from SNTS.