Substantiation of the exposure reference level of Belarus citizens in the situation of existing exposure after the Chernobyl accident

For the first time, the transition from an emergency exposure situation to an existing exposure situation has been scientifically substantiated and a draft resolution of the Council of Ministers of the Republic of Belarus on the implementation of this transition has been developed. The analysis of the radiation doses of the population from natural sources of ionizing radiation and Chernobyl origin allowed us to propose a reference level of exposure of citizens of Belarus in the current situation of the existing exposure of 10 mSv per year. The value of the reference level is mainly determined by the existing exposure of the population from natural sources, mainly radon. It has been proved that the radiation from the Chernobyl fallout is currently significantly lower than from natural sources. The proposed value of the reference level for the post-Chernobyl period coincides with the reference level adopted in Japan after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant.