PREVALENCE OF CONGENITAL-MALFORMATIONS IN BAVARIA, GERMANY, AFTER THECHERNOBYL ACCIDENT

This study considers whether or not exposure to radioactive fallout fr om the Chernobyl accident led to an increased prevalence of congenital malformations in infants born in Bavaria, the German state with the h ighest levels of contamination after the accident. The odds ratios for major malformations after the accident relative to before were used a s indicators for adverse health effects. Since measurements of caesium in soil showed that contamination was considerably higher in Southern Bavaria than in Northern Bavaria, the odds ratios were calculated for both regions separately. Analysis did not show a significant increase in any of the odds ratios of the selected malformations in Southern B avaria as compared to Northern Bavaria. Consequently, this study provi des no evidence that radiation from Chernobyl caused an increase in th e birth prevalence of major congenital malformations.