Petridou et al. [1] have reported an increase in infant leukemia in Greek children born between 1/7/86 and 31/12/87 and have linked this increase to in utero radiation exposure due to the Chernobyl accident. Subsequently, Michaelis et al. [2] have reported a similar trend for Germany but found that it was not correlated to the levels of contamination. For Belarus, which was much more severely affected, a similar but much weaker trend is found.

No abstract

Childhood leukemia (ICD 204-208 [1]) incidence rates in the different regions of Belarus are reported for a period before and after the Chernobyl accident (1982-1994). There are, at this point, no recognizable trends towards higher rates.

Data on the incidence of acute leukemia (AL) in children in the Byelorus Republic is analysed and comparisons made between the incidence of AL prior and subsequent to the Chernobyl accident in 1986. The Byelorus Republic was directly and heavily contaminated at that time and careful records of the incidence of cases of AL and other malignancies have since been kept. Byelorus is divided into large administrative regions-oblasts-which are subdivided into raions. Both the levels of radiation and estimates of chemical pollution in these areas are available. Childhood AL incidence appears to be unrelated to radiation dosage in that no increases were seen in the more radiation contaminated areas. However there appeared to be a more likely relationship with chemical pollution. Adult AL and other myeloproliferative and lymphoproliferative disorders have appeared to increase since 1986 but again the authors attribute this more to rising levels of chemical pollution possibly associated with radiation as a coleukemogen.