CS-137 CONCENTRATION AMONG CHILDREN IN AREAS CONTAMINATED WITH RADIOACTIVE FALLOUT FROM THE CHERNOBYL ACCIDENT - MOGILEV AND GOMEL OBLASTS,BYELARUS

The level of radiation exposure in children in Belarus caused by the C hernobyl accident was investigated on the basis of whole body Cs-137 c ount. The subjects were 10,062 children (4,762 boys and 5,300 girls) i n Mogilev and Gomel, Belarus, who received Chernobyl Sasakawa Health a nd Medical Cooperation Project health examinations from May 1991 to De cember 1992 and who were 5-16 y old at the time of examination. The me dian whole body Cs-137 count per body weight varied from 21-48 Bq kg(- 1) and from 28-126 Bq kg(-1) in Mogilev oblast and Gomel oblast, respe ctively. (The ''oblast'' is the largest administrative district consti tuting the country. Belarus consists of 6 oblasts.) Corresponding annu al effective dose equivalents were all less than the public dose limit of 1 mSv y(-1), but the observed levels in the children were consider ably higher than the average level of 2.3 Bq kg(-1) reported in the pa st for the former Soviet Union.