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Larissa I. Privalova,¹ Boris A. Katsnelson,¹ Eugene V. Polzik,² Vladimir S. Kazantsev,² Georgy Ya. Lipatov,³ and Yakov B. Beikin⁴

¹Medical Research Centre for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers,
²Ecological Safety Engineering Research Center of the Ural Divison of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
³Ekaterinburg Medical Institute, and
⁴City Center for Laboratory Diagnosis of Diseases in Mothers and Babies, Ekaterinburg, Russia

Abstract
Detecting changes in humans that result from radioactive contamination of the area of residence many years after an incident (i.e., when the radiation has substantially decayed) presents a difficult epidemiological problem. Problems of this kind are even more complicated in areas where the population is continually exposed to other harmful man-made factors. The city of Kamensk-Uralsky (Sverdlovsk region, Russia) is a good case in point. In 1957, part of Kamensk-Uralsky was contaminated as the result of an accident at the Kyshtym nuclear plant. In addition, the population of the contaminated area is being exposed to atmospheric emissions from several industrial enterprises. Two comparable groups of residents were formed: one in the contaminated area and another in a control area within the same city characterized by similar levels of chemical pollution but substantially lower radioactive contamination. The groups were composed of only those people who had been living in these areas continually since time of the accident and who were under 15 years of age at the time of the accident. The groups were matched by sex, age, and socio-occupational characteristics. For each subject, data were gathered on more than 50 parameters including hematological, immunological, and biochemical indices of the health status. All these data were obtained from blood tests taken in the fall of 1992. Data processing was carried out with the the help of a computerized mathematical pattern recognition methodology, which ensured reliable discrimination between the generalized health status in the areas under study. We found that the health status of inhabitants of the area more contaminated with radioactive fallouts was adversely affected by radiation. Key words: epidemiological studies, nuclear accidents, radiation, Russia. Environ Health Perspect 102:470-474(1994)

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/1994/102-5/privalova.html

Address correspondence to L.I. Privalova, Medical Research Center for Prophylaxis and Health Protection in Industrial Workers, Popov Str., 30, Ekaterinburg L-14, 620014, Russia.

Received 7 September 1993 ; accepted 3 March 1994.