URCRM is the leading organisation of the Federal Medical Biological Agency of Russia in the sphere of medical care to the exposed population and the study of long-term medical consequences of radiation exposure of the population.URCRM is the only institution in the Urals, providing specialized medical and preventive care to the population accidentally exposed to radiation and their offspring.

The scientific problems solved by the URCRM are of global priority for ensuring radiation safety to the population and are devoted to the analysis of health effects of chronic radiation exposure on persons, as well as to the development of methods of their diagnosis and treatment.

Main areas of activity

• applied research in radiobiology, radiation medicine, molecular biology, epidemiology, and dosimetry

• providing therapeutic, diagnostic, preventive, and rehabilitation assistance to the population exposed to radiation due to the accidents at Mayak PA and Chernobyl NPP, as well as their offspring

• expertise of the state of health of the exposed people and ascertainment of a causal connection between disease, disability, and death with radiation

• international scientific collaboration in the sphere of radiation safety, radiobiology and radiation medicine

• education activity

• outreach activity

URCRM has a modern material and technical basis for scientific research:

- a whole body counter (WBC) named SICH to determine the strontium and cesium content in the body,
- a local network for the collection and processing of medical, dosimetric and hygienic data,
- experimental units for constant and variable exposure dose rate,
- state-of-the-art equipment for molecular and genetic studies.

Since 1955, URCRM has been providing health services for the population affected by low dose rate radiation exposure due to radiation accidents at the Mayak Production Association (Mayak PA) (discharges of radioactive wastes into the Techa River, explosion of the radioactive waste storage and formation of the East Urals Radioactive Trace (EURT), etc.).

Over this period a system to ensure radiation safety of the population of the Urals region (about 500,000 people) chronically exposed to radiation was developed at the URCRM.The basis of this system was formed by the registry of the exposed population, medical and dosimetric database, scientifically justified instruction documents and methodological guidelines on medical follow-up of the chronically exposed population, on prevention and treatment of health effects of chronic radiation exposure as well as justification of measures aimed at reduction of exposure doses in emergency situations. For the first time in large-scale radiation accidents the scientific rationale of protective measures was undertaken. The example of the EURT has demonstrated for the first time that it is possible to return the territory non-uniformely contaminated with long-lived radionuclides into agricultural use and implement agrochemical measures to decrease radionuclides penetration to the foodstuffs.

Exposure doses to residents of the Techa riverside villages were reconstructed on the basis of long-term dosimetric studies of environmental media (more than 31,000 measurements have been performed) and the population (measurements have been performed for more than 58,000 people).Experimental studies simulating emergency situations allowed our specialists to estimate the dynamics of Sr-90 deposition in the human body. Carcinogenic risk of chronic exposure in people was assessed.

Results of long-term studies and medical follow-up of exposed persons and their offspring, treatment of hematological patients and persons who were diagnosed with chronic radiation syndrome have become the basis for the organization of medical care of the exposed population of the Urals region. Regular medical examination and treatment of chronically exposed people and their offspring are performed in the Clinical department of the URCRM.

For many years, the URCRM Clinical department has been detecting and treating general somatic diseases, early diagnosis of malignant tumors and leukemias, and medical and genetic examination of the offspring of the exposed population.

Annually about 1,000 patients are hospitalized, more than 2,000 patients receive outpatient medical care. Dispensary examinations of the population of five raions of the Chelyabinsk Oblast and two raions of the Kurgan Oblast most affected due to radiation accidents are being conducted.

In 2014, the opening ceremony of Medical Center for people affected by external or internal radioactive exposure was held on the basis and for the needs of the Urals Research Center for Radiation Medicine of the FMBA of Russia. Its commissioning is and innovative project which allowed expanding the URCRM clinical site, as well as using modern, state-of-the-art and effective methods of diagnosis and treatment of long-term radiation effects in the exposed people and their offspring