4. Environmental exposures

Monitoring environmental exposure is an essential complement to the studies mentioned above, as it concerns large populations with varying sensitivities to ionizing radiation. Under normal circumstances, populations are not exposed to man-made radiation. However, certain accidents (Chernobyl) or deliberate releases (Mayak and Sellafield) may have led to the local exposure of a small group of people, or even large populations, whose monitoring may provide additional knowledge in the field of the health effects of ionizing radiation.