ORIGINAL PAPER ESR dosimetry study on population of settlements nearby Ust-Kamenogorsk city, Kazakhstan Kassym Zhumadilov Æ Alexander Ivannikov Æ Dinara Zharlyganova Æ Zhaxybay Zhumadilov Æ Valeriy Stepanenko Æ Kazbek Apsalikov Æ Mohd Rodzi Ali Æ Anara Zhumadilova Æ Shin Toyoda Æ Satoru Endo Æ Kenichi Tanaka Æ Tetsuji Okamoto Æ Masaharu Hoshi Received: 10 February 2009 / Accepted: 11 June 2009 / Published online: 26 June 2009 Ó Springer-Verlag 2009 Abstract The method of electron spin resonance (ESR) dosimetry has been applied to human tooth enamel, to obtain individual absorbed doses of residents of settlements in vicinity of Ust-Kamenogorsk city, Kazakhstan (located about 400 km to the east from the epicenter of explosion at the Semipalatinsk Nuclear Test Site, SNTS). This region developed as a major mining and metallurgical center during the Soviet period (uranium production). Most of the investigated settlements (Ust-Kamenogorsk city, Glubo- koe, Tavriya, Gagarino) are located near the central axis of the radioactive fallout trace that originated from the surface nuclear test on 24 August 1956, while the Kokpekty settlement (located 400 km to the Southeast from SNTS) was chosen as a control because it was not subjected to any radioactive contamination. In total, 44 samples were measured. It was found that the excess doses obtained after subtraction of natural background radiation ranged up to about 114 mGy for residents of Ust-Kamenogorsk city, whose tooth enamel was formed before 1956. For residents of Gagarino, excess doses did not exceed 47 mGy for all ages. For residents of Tavriya, the maximum excess dose was 54 mGy, while for residents of Glubokoe it was about 58 mGy. For the population of the Shemonaikha settle- ments located at a distance of about 70 km from the central K. Zhumadilov (&)  M. R. Ali  S. Endo  K. Tanaka  M. Hoshi Research Institute for Radiation Biology and Medicine, Hiroshima University, 1-2-3 Kasumi, Minami-ku, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan e-mail: kassym@hiroshima-u.ac.jp A. Ivannikov  V. Stepanenko Medical Radiological Research Center, Korolyov str., 4, 249020 Obninsk, Russia D. Zharlyganova  Z. Zhumadilov  A. Zhumadilova Astana Medical University, 51a, Beibitshilik str., Astana 010000, Kazakhstan K. Apsalikov Scientific-Research Institute for Radiation Medicine and Ecology, Semey 071400, Kazakhstan S. Toyoda Department of Applied Physics, Okayama University of Science, 1-1 Ridai, Okayama 700-0005, Japan S. Endo Department of Quantum Energy Applications, Graduated School of Engineering, Hiroshima University, 1-4-1 Kagamiyama, Higashi-Hiroshima 739-8527, Japan K. Tanaka Division of Physics, Department of Liberal Arts and Sciences, Center of Medical Education, Sapporo Medical University South 1, West 17, Chuo-ku, Sapporo, Hokkaido 060-8556, Japan T. Okamoto Division of Frontier Medical Science, Department of Molecular Oral Medicine and Maxillofacial Surgery, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima 734-8553, Japan 123 Radiat Environ Biophys (2009) 48:419–425 DOI 10.1007/s00411-009-0235-y