External doses from Chernobyl fallout in Norway: individual dose measurements in the municipality of Oeystre Slidre

Oystre Slidre was the Norwegian municipality most heavily affected by the Chernobyl accident. In the summer of 1992, individual external dose measurements in this municipality were performed with the aid of TL dosemeters carried on a string around the neck. The results indicate monthly effective dose equivalents due to Chernobyl fallout in the range 7-36 μSv for the various monitored groups, corresponding to a 15-60% increase relative to the natural background level. The uncertainty in the group mean values is estimated to 5 μSv. The greatest source of uncertainty and dosemetric challenge in the project relates to the appropriate correction for natural background radiation and internal contamination. The measured values correlate well with published conversion factors between ground activity levels and effective dose equivalent values. (author)