A comparison of human exposure to natural radiation and DU in parts of the Balkan region

The paper presents the field results from six selected rural communities in the Southeast (Kalna), South (Niska Banja, Gornja Stubla, Borovac) and West (Uzice, Han Pijesak) parts of the Balkan region, where general population exposures to unmodified and technologically enhanced natural radioactive material (TENORM), including ammunition containing depleted uranium (DU) or reprocessed DU as well as indoor high radon, have been investigated. Since the only definitive evidence of DU contamination in soil samples could tell the disruption of the natural isotopic abundance of U-238 and U-235, it is important to distinguish between different sources of radiation burden to the population involved. The results of this work confirm that there is a constant need for developing comprehensive information about the spatial distribution of exposures in an adequately fine geographical grid, and for the accumulative dose estimation up to the present that clearly presented the uncertainty ranges and probability distribution of the estimated individual and population doses.