Medical-biological problems

The report contains data on operational and emergency staff of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant who were exposed to radiation as a consequence of the reactor accident, the size of the doses received and consequences for health. 203 persons were found to have acute radiation sickness. Of the 22 patients suffering from an extremely severe degree of acute radiation sickness, 19 died. Of the 23 patients with severe bone marrow syndrome, 7 died. For the majority of patients, clinical recovery occurred toward the end of the second month following the accident. The main harmful factor for all victims was the relatively uniform gamma- and beta-radiation effect in a dosage exceeding 1 Gy and, in the case of 35 people exceeding 4 Gy. Radiation damage to wide areas of the skin was one of the main factors contributing to the overall severe condition of the patients, and was a determining factor in the main fatal complications. A preliminary evaluation of the use of some biochemical and immunological tests in the event of accidental exposure to radiation and the methods of treatment and preliminary assessment of their effectiveness are presented. Another part of the report contains data on the doses from radiation exposure to the population of the town of Pripyat' until the time of evacuation and to the population in the 30 km zone around Chernobyl' nuclear power plant and radiation consequences of the accident for the population of different regions in the European part of the USSR, especially the problems related to the contamination of food products. The last part of the report gives some data on the organization of medical examinations of the population from the region around the Chernobyl' plant and on the long-term programmes for the medical and biological monitoring of the population and personnel