Table 5.

Contribution of different exposure pathways to the total thyroid dose.

Pathway and radionuclides of exposure	Contributiona of exposure pathways to the total thyroid dose (%)
	Belarus	Russia	Both countries
Inhalation of 131I	2.3 (0–89)	5.3 (0.2–87)	2.9 (0–89)
131I intake with milk	90 (0–99.9)	74 (0–99.2)	84 (0–99.9)
131I intake with leafy vegetables	0b (0–96)	4.8 (0–94)	0b (0–96)
Short-lived radionuclidesc	0.6 (0–18)	0.5 (0.06–7.3)	0.5 (0–18)
External exposure	0.8 (0.01–68)	2.7 (0.07–76)	1.1 (0.01–76)
134,137Cs ingestion	0.4 (0.02–32)	1.5 (0.08–19)	0.5 (0.02–32)

^aMedian (range).

^bMore than half of subjects reported that they did not consume leafy vegetables.

^cShort-lived radioiodines ¹³²I, ¹³³I, ¹³⁵I, and short-lived radiotelluriums ^131mTe, ¹³²Te.