Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian Soviet Socialist Republic 26 05 1987 Secret On the Progress of Implementation of the Order USSR Ministry of Health No 527-PSP from 13 04 1987 To USSR Minister of Health Comrade E I Chazov As a result of the accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Station part of the republic's population has been exposed to elevated radiation Areas with elevated radiation are in the Kiev Zhytomyr and Chernigov oblasts where 215 000 people live including 74 600 children Medical support for this population was carried out with the involvement of personnel and capacities from all areas in the republic along with medical workers at local medical institutions Approximately 2 thousand doctors 4 thousand paramedics and nurses technicians dosimetrists and 1 250 students in their last year of medical school were engaged in mass preventative inspections of the first stage of health screenings Clinics at scientific research institutes - departments of x-ray radiology and oncology endocrinology pediatrics acupuncture gynecology hematology and blood transfusion and cardiology - were widely used for in-depth examination and treatment Brigades of trained specialists were constantly sent from these institutes in the Polesie Ivankov Narodichskiy and Ovruchsky districts as providers of practical help on the ground To date the vast majority 99 3% of the population who resided in the zone of elevated radiation were included in the medical examinations including laboratory and dosimetry studies As a result 39 600 patients who were not previously registered were identified For people who were diagnosed with various physical illnesses dynamic supervision was instituted and their treatment was carried out in ambulatory and stationary situations During the year 20 200 people were hospitalized of which 6 thousand were children Special attention was devoted to the organization of medical surveys of children who were tested 2-3 times in the last year and where medically necessary tested more frequently with the use of advanced diagnostic methods In the first month after the accident at the Chernobyl NPS dosimetric surveys were conducted of the thyroid gland in all children In 2 600 of them 3 4% it was found that the gland contained iodine radionuclides exceeding 500 REM Children with elevated doses of radiation in their thyroid glands were hospitalized at clinics at pediatric research institutes obstetrics and gynecology endocrinology hematology and blood transfusion centers and also in specialized clinics of medical universities At present the hospital of the All-Union Center for Medical Radiology of the Academy of Medical Sciences of the USSR is providing in-depth examination and rehabilitation for those children In total in the clinics they examined and treated 2 317 children with elevated levels of iodine radionuclides In the summer of 1986 all children and pregnant women from areas with elevated radiation were sent in an organized manner to various oblasts in the republic for recuperation Since June 1986 a mass survey has been conducted on the content and levels of cesium in the human body Altogether 78 400 people were screened of which 25 000 were children including evacuees from the area and participants in the clean-up of the accident Of these 96 34% 75 531 people had only from 0 to 1 REM of incorporated cesium 137 or 134 and 0 07% 40 people had over 10 REM Currently an array of information in paper form has been accumulated about the health of the population residing in areas with elevated levels of radiation The development of mathematical software is being completed with the aim of creating a register using computing technology In the first half of 1987 the mainframe computer Iskra-226 was installed in 5 central neighborhood hospitals in the Kiev and Zhytomyr oblasts the mainframe computer SM-4 will be installed Doctors in clinical and prophylactic institutions serving populations in areas with elevated radiation are being trained constantly on questions of radiation hygiene and the prophylactics of radiation injury at the Kiev Institute for Doctors' Continuing Education For personnel support at the medical institutions of these districts young specialists were sent to Polesie-42 Ivankovo-29 Narodichi-27 Ovruch-15 Central regional hospitals added additional staff positions for doctors of hematology endocrinology lab technicians and other specialists These hospitals were provided in priority order with medical equipment drugs and reagents There is ongoing dosimetric and sanitary monitoring of the surrounding environment of living conditions and nutrition of the population in areas with elevated levels of radiation During the time after the accident at the Chernobyl NPS the sanitary and epidemiological service conducted around 3 million instrumental and laboratory studies Taking into account the particularly difficult living conditions in 47 settlements in the Kiev and Zhytomyr oblasts where high levels of soil contamination have been registered the Ministry of Health of the Ukrainian SSR developed an interdepartmental program for constant monitoring of the radiological situation in zone II villages In the current year 1 419 preschool children 3 612 school children and 380 students of vocational schools from the Polesie district as well as 453 preschoolers and 1 610 school children from the Narodychy district receive free food Recommended food rations have been developed for school children like the ones approved for general boarding schools 1 ruble 20 Kopeks However in some cases these recommendations were violated In February 1987 in the Narodychy district students received only 50-80% of milk 30% of fish 50-70% of vegetables and potatoes 50% of vegetable oil along with the increased consumption of sour cream by 5070% A similar violation took place in the Polesie district On this occasion the Ministry of Health informed the Zhytomyr and the Kiev Regional Executive Committees the Ministry of Trade the Ukrainian Republican Union of Consumer Societies and the Council of Ministers of the Ukrainian SSR The Ministry of Health is carrying out measures to improve dissemination of public knowledge about radiation hygiene among health workers and the general population It has organized scientific and practical conferences seminars for doctors and meetings with the population Forty-two titles in the popular science literature were published with a circulation of more than 3 million copies Representatives of the State Agricultural Committee and other ministries and agencies are involved in this work Minister Signature A E Romanenko Source READ Box 27 Russian and Eastern European Archive Documents Database Russian State Archive of Contemporary History Moscow Russian Federation Fond 89 opis56 Delo 7 Translated by Brooke Lennox for the National Security Archive This document is from the holdings of The National Security Archive Suite 701 Gelman Library The George Washington University 2130 H Street NW Washington D C 20037 Phone 202 994-7000 Fax 202 994-7005 nsarchiv@gwu edu