Accumulated external radiation doses of residents near the Semipalatinsk nu
clear test site of the former USSR are presented as a results of study by t
he thermoluminescence technique for bricks sampled at several settlements i
n 1995 and 1996, The external doses that we evaluated from exposed bricks w
ere up to about 100 cGy for resident. The external doses at several points
in the center of Semipalatinsk City ranged from a background level to 60 cG
y, which was remarkably high compared with the previously reported values b
ased on military data.