[Measuring cesium 137 concentrations in surgical specimen of gynecologic tumors and breast milk, amniotic fluid and in umbilical cords, 6 years after Chernobyl].

In the present study, the cesium 137 content in various human tissues was examined 6 years after the Chernobyl reactor catastrophe. The measurements were performed with a gamma-ray spectrometer by means of a germanium/lithium detector. The median of cesium 137 was 20 mBq/ml in mother's milk, 60 mBq/ml in amniotic fluid, 105 mBq/g in umbilical cords, 51 mBq/g in ovarian tumours, and 140 mBq/g in mammary carcinomas. These values lay far below the permissible limit values of 528 mBq/ml or 528 mBq/g for persons not exposed to radiation. The problems of determining the upper limit were also discussed, and it was ascertained that despite the favorably low values recorded in this study a residual risk to health cannot be absolutely precluded in the light of present-day knowledge.