Radiation is found in many forms. You are exposed to natural background radiation every day from the ground, building materials, air, food, outer space (cosmic rays), and even from elements occurring naturally in your body. A millisievert (mSv) is the unit used to measure the amount of radiation received. The amount of natural background radiation you receive each year in Canada is between 2 and 4 mSv.
Ionizing radiation is the type of radiation to which people who work in the nuclear industry or around x-ray equipment in medical institutions or laboratories are exposed. The maximum amount of radiation people are allowed to receive in the workplace is regulated. The Canadian Nuclear Safety Commission sets a limit of 50 mSv in a single year and 100 mSv over 5 years (a 20 mSv per year average). The limit for a pregnant worker, once pregnancy has been declared, is 4 mSv for the remainder of the pregnancy. Provinces also have workplace radiation protection regulations, which vary from province to province. Radiation exposure limits are also set under the Canada Labour Code.
These various regulations and safe practices ensure that most people who are exposed to workplace radiation receive far below 20 mSv per year. While exposure levels vary by job, the average yearly radiation exposure of a monitored worker is about 0.3 mSv.
チェルノブイリ事故の被曝の影響による全世界の癌死者数の見積りとして2万件から6万件が妥当なところとの見解を示しているが、たとえ直接の被曝を受けなくとも避難などに伴う心理面・物理面での間接的な健康被害への影響に対する責任が免責されるわけではないと指摘している[28]。
ウクライナ国立科学アカデミー(National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine)のIvan Godlevskyらの調査によると、チェルノブイリ事故前のウクライナにおけるLugyny地区の平均寿命は75歳であったが、事故後、65歳にまで減少しており[29]、特に高齢者の死亡率が高まっていることが分かった[要出典]。これは放射線およびストレスのかかる状況が長期化したことが大きな要因と見られる[30]。1991年に独立した当時のウクライナの人口は約5200万人だったが、2010年には約4500万人にまで減少している[31]。