Study on external exposure doses received by the Cuban population from environmental radiation sources

The results are described of the study carried out with the aim of assessing doses received by the Cuban population due to the external exposure to environmental radiation sources. Contributions of cosmic radiation's ionising and indirectly ionising components to these doses, as well as the fraction resulting from terrestrial radiation, were also assessed as part of this study. Measurements made enabled us to estimate representative effective average doses received by the Cuban population from external exposure to cosmic and terrestrial radiation. Both outdoor and indoor permanency were taken into account for this estimate as well as the distribution of the Cuban population by altitude. The average representative dose due to cosmic radiation was estimated to be 298 +/- 17 microSv per year, while the dose received by terrestrial radiation represented 180 +/- 14 microSv per year, for a total annual dose of 78 +/- 20 microSv. These values are within the range of those reported throughout the world by other authors.