CONSEQUENCES OF THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT IN LITHUANIA A. MASTAUSKAS Ministry of Health of the Republic of Lithuania, State Public Health Centre, Vilnius, Lithuania

After the Chernobyl accident of 26 April, 1986, population dose assessment favours the view that the radiation risk of population effected by the early fallout would be different from that in regions contaminated later. Taking into account the short half-time of the most important radioactive iodine isotopes, thyroid disorders would be expected mainly to follow the early fallout distribution. At the time of accident at Unite 4 of the Chernobyl NPP, surface winds were from the Southeast. The initial explosions and heat carried volatile radioactive materials to the 1,5 km height, from where they were transported over the Western part of Belarus, Southern and Western part of Lithuania toward Scandinavian countries [1]. Thus the volatile radioiodine and some other radionuclides were detected in Lithuania on the very first days after the accident. The main task of the work to conduct short half-time radioiodine and long half-time radiocesium dose assessment of Lithuanian inhabitants as a result of the early Chernobyl accident fallout.