Potential Doses at the Atolls: Assessing Radiation Doses Attributed to Residual Radioactive Materials

The existence of a hypothetical population resident on Mururoa atoll, which has been populated only sporadically in the past, was assumed by IAEA researchers in order to determine potential radiation doses stemming from French nuclear tests conducted during 1966-74. The assessment considered radionuclide dispersion from underground and atmospheric tests and focused on the ingestion exposure pathway. The highest doses that could be received as a result of residues from the nuclear tests would be doses to a hypothetical and very small population consuming only local produce from a limited area of the Kilo-Empereur region of Fangataufa. An effective dose rate of less than 0.25 mSv/yr is predicted.