12. Background doses from artificial radionuclides in the environment of mainland France

For the year 1963, at the height of the fallout from atmospheric testing of nuclear weapons, effective doses received by an adult were estimated at between 300 µSv, for the Paris region and areas with low rainfall, and almost 600 µSv for the wettest areas of France. . 60% of these doses result from food ingestion. Before the Chernobyl accident, effective doses received by an adult had fallen to values of the order of 30 to 60 µSv.year ^-1 , mainly due to external exposure to cesium 137 present in soils and the incorporation of carbon 14.