Health consequences of the accident of Chernobyl in Germany and Europe outside the former Soviet Union

After the Chernobyl reactor accident areas outside the former Soviet Union especially in Central Europe, South East Europe and parts of Scandinavia were affected by the reactor accident. To date, there is no evidence that the reactor accident has caused adverse radiation health effects in Germany.

Estimation of additional cancer cases

Various national and international organisations carried out estimates of the total number of expected cancer cases in Europe induced by radiation. The results of the estimates vary widely. In November 2006, the BfS organised an international workshop on the matter. The variations between the estimates were found to be caused by differences in the population figures used and not by different assumptions about the radiation exposure levels or the radiation-induced risk of cancer.
On the whole, it can be assumed that outside the former Soviet Union there has been no statistically discernible increase in cancer incidence compared to the number of spontaneously occurring cancer cases.

Impacts on the unborn child - contradictory findings

In a survey of over 5,000 pregnant women living in more affected areas in Germany who got pregnant shortly before or after the reactor accident, no damage (such as malformations) could later be ascertained in their children.
Other studies revealed contradictory findings concerning infant mortality as well as the frequencies of stillbirths, malformations and tumours in children in Germany. Many of the studies indicating a statistically significant association have methodological weaknesses. The latter especially include the evaluation of aggregated data categorised according to place and time without any individual information. This means that the potential influence of confounding variables cannot be ruled out. Thus, it cannot be excluded that the reported observations are accidental.

Trisomy 21 in newborn infants

In January 1987, twelve newborn infants were diagnosed with Trisomy 21 (Down syndrome) in the western part of Berlin. Only two to three spontaneous cases with this disability are registered there per month. As this increase occurred exactly nine months after the Chernobyl accident, it was associated with the disaster. However, studies in Sweden, Finland, Hungary, Norway and Bavaria found no association even though higher additional radiation exposure levels had been determined there than in Berlin.

Thyroid cancer in children

In Germany, there are no indications for an increased incidence of thyroid cancer in children due to the radiation accident.