Health check-ups of children living in a Belarus district contaminated after the Chernobyl accident

Abstract

-The Chernobyl nuclear accident, which occurred on April 26th, 1986, resulted in widespread long-term contamination, mainly due to 137 Cs, of large territories where populations live. A project was initiated to assess the 137 Cs body burden and health status, not limited to radiation-induced pathologies, for all children living in a highly contaminated district in Belarus; the aim was to provide detailed information for parents worried about their children's health, without the intention of quantifying the radiation-induced risk. In total, about 2500 children benefited from these check-ups, which included approximately 30 parameters and were repeated three times between 2005 and 2009. The internal 137 Cs burden was rather low; about 50% of children had less than 10 Bq kg −1 . The health indicators reported in this paper are the global health status, physical development, and frequencies of thyroid modifications and cardiac dysfunctions. The 137 Cs body burden or density deposition did not appear to be strongly associated with these health indicators; other parameters, such as quality of living conditions and rural or urban residence, appeared to be more important. The aim of the project was achieved, as the results provided a global overview of the health status and level of internal contamination of children living in a contaminated territory about 20 years after the accident.

ICRP Publication 146: Radiological Protection of People and the Environment in the Event of a Large Nuclear Accident

“…Health impacts of changes in lifestyle associated with protective actions (40) In addition to radiation-induced health effects following the accident, there may be other health-related impacts due to changes in lifestyle attributable to the presence of radioactivity and the actions taken to avoid radiation exposure. Many studies carried out following the Chernobyl and Fukushima nuclear accidents have reported a range of physical and psychological disorders linked to the protective actions taken not only during the early phase, but also during the intermediate and long-term phases (Hasegawa et al, 2015;Luccioni et al, 2016).…”