A summary of updated UNSCEAR evaluations on medical and occupational exposures to ionising radiation and call for participation in UNSCEAR Global Surveys on radiation exposure

Abstract This paper summarises key findings of United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation (UNSCEAR) 2020/2021 Report on the evaluations of medical and occupational exposures to ionising radiation. Medical exposure remains by far the largest human-made source of radiation exposure of the population. In the period 2009–18, about 4.2 billion medical radiological examinations were performed annually, resulting in an effective dose per caput of 0.57 mSv. The worldwide annual number of workers exposed to natural and human-made sources of ionising radiation is estimated to be ~24 million in the period 2010–14. About 52% of those were employed in the sectors that involve exposure to natural sources of radiation. The annual effective dose was estimated to be around 2.0 mSv for workers exposed to natural sources (excluding radon exposure in workplaces other than mines) and 0.5 mSv for workers exposed to human-made sources. It is important to motivate United Nations Member States to fully participate in UNSCEAR’s global surveys on radiation exposure. Future surveys will be relevant and useful and adapted to changing data sources and uses of radiation across the world.