[en] A study is made of the spectral distribution of the soft X-ray emission produced by the thermal part of the electron velocity distribution in the ST Tokamak. The slopes of the spectra are in good agreement with the prediction from laser measurement of electron temperature if radial profile effects are taken into account. The absolute intensity is a factor 5 to 100 larger than is expected for hydrogen bremsstrahlung. This enhancement can be quantitatively accounted for by recombination radiation from oxygen and heavy-metal impurities. The enhancement factor zeta was measured at different radii, in order to study the impurity distribution in the tokamak. These, as well as other experiments, in which high-Z gases (Xe, Kr, A) were pulsed into the discharge, indicated that, within the measuring accuracy, Zsub(eff) does not vary substantially with radius. (author)