Figure 2. Average
individual global radiation dose in the 1990s from nuclear explosions,
the Chernobyl accident, and commercial nuclear power plants combined was about
0.4% of the average natural dose of 2.2 mSv per year. In areas of Belarus,
Ukraine, and Russia that were highly contaminated by Chernobyl fallout, the
average individual dose was actually much lower than that in the regions with
high natural radiation. The greatest man-made contribution to radiation dose
has been irradiation from x-ray diagnostics in medicine, which accounts for
about 20% of the average natural radiation dose. Natural exposure is assumed
to be stable. The temporal trends in medical and local Chernobyl exposures are
not presented. (Based on data from UNSCEAR.)
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