[Cesium-137 residues in food and in persons in areas severely contaminated by the Chernobyl power station accident].

On April 26, 1986, the fourth reactor of the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station, in the Ukraine, of the former Soviet Union, exploded. Since March in 1991, a group including the author has been performed medical surveys and provided assistance centered mainly in Gomel district of the Republic of Belarus, which contains many severely contaminated areas due to fallout. Ultra sound scanning was performed by the Shinshu University School of Medicine Second Department of surgery on thyroid glands of children in Chechersk region, of Gomel. Twenty-one persons, each with tuberculous echogenic dots in their thyroid glands, were brought to Japan for further examination. The 137Cs residue was measured in these 21 persons, using a whole-body counter (WBC). Subsequently 137Cs was also measured in a range of food items found in the city in which they live. These studies indicate that, although the children live in the same area, differences in life style and in food intake are reflected in the amount of cesium residue in their bodies.