A Comparative Analysis of the Stillbirth Incidence in Radioactively Contaminated Areas of Bryansk Oblast after the Chernobyl Accident (1986–2016)

Abstract—Based on the official statistics for 1986–2016, this paper presents the findings of a comparative analysis of the rate of stillbirth in boys and girls in radioactively contaminated areas of the Bryansk oblast with different radioactive contamination densities by the long-lived radionuclides 137Cs and 90Sr after the Chernobyl accident. No significant differences were found in the stillbirth rate for both the boys and girls between the radioactively contaminated and non-contaminated areas of the Bryansk oblast over the 31 years following the Chernobyl accident (1986–2016). The rate of stillborn boys over girls was significantly higher in radioactively contaminated areas (17%) compared with the corresponding data across the oblast (10%) and in the control areas (8%), with the most significant differences observed in the third period after the accident (2008–2016) (52%).