Decision of the Ethic Committee

concerning the program “Radiation monitoring of children living in the Chernobyl zone of Belarus, their radiation protection and assessment of the effectiveness of the protection with the pectin preparations “Vitapect””

We, the undersigned members of the Ethic Committee, the head of the department of the Belarusian State Medical University, professor Tamara Andreyevna Birich and the dean of the Orthodox parish in honor of all Holies, archpriest Fyodor Povny made the present decision concerning the fulfillment of the researches under the program “Radiation monitoring of children living in the Chernobyl zone of Belarus, their radiation protection and assessment of the effectiveness of the protection with the pectin preparations “Vitapect””. The research was made according to the work scheme provided for this Program.

There was made a measurement of the level of the specific activity of radionuclides in organisms of the children living in the Chernobyl zone of Belarus and having their holidays in the sanatorium-preventive clinic “Silver Springs” of Svetlogorsk district, Gomel region. The measurements were made with help of the automated complex of spectrometry of human internal radiation “SKRINNER-3M” (serial No 243). According to the results of the measurements two groups of children 32 persons each (groups A and B) of children were selected. Each group consisted of 17 boys and 15 girls who were born in 1990-94. The children from the group A received the “Vitapect”, the children from the group B received the “Placebo” . Each child received a personal number – in the group A – from 1A till 32A, in the group B – from 1B till 32B. Those numbers were put in envelopes and sealed with the seal of the sanatorium-preventive clinic. Those envelopes were packed and sealed with sealing wax. A.I. Rusakova, a head of the pediatrician department of the sanatorium-preventive clinic was responsible for giving number in each groups. The Program leaders and executors worked anonymously having not got an idea to which group referred the child.

In order to receive a written parent’s permission for their children to participate in the Program a tour to the city of the residence of the children Gomel, Svetlogorsk, Rechitsa, Dobrush, Yelsk were organized. The questionnaires were prepared for each child and consisted of the data of the primary and final clinical checkups (a hight, a weight, a pulse, an arterial pressure, a data of radiometric measurements).

The preparations were taken under supervision of the head of the pediatrician department A.I. Rusakova. At the end of the period of taking the preparations the second measurement of the level of the specific activity of radionuclides in order to determine the quantitative change of the radionuclide concentration in the children’s organisms.

The children who had taken “Placebo” during participation in this Program received the preparation “Vitapect” (32 cans) by the head of the pediatrician department A.I. Rusakova of the sanatorium-preventive clinic the “Silver Springs” (bill No 475436 dated 23.06.2001).

After making the second measurement in our presence the packege with the envelopes was opened, in the list with the result of the second measurement the notes with the references to which group the children referred were made and also the calculation of the average specific activity and the quadratic error were made according the results of the primary and the final measurements.

The statistical data processing of the first and the second measurements gave the following results:

- the average specific activity after the primary measurement on June 5-8, 2001 made:

- the average specific activity after the final measurement on June 21-23, 2001 made:

the decrease of the specific activity of radionuclides in the children’s organisms made 65,6 %.

- the average specific activity after the primary measurement on June 5-8, 2001 made:

- the average specific activity after the final measurement on June 21-23, 2001 made:

the decrease of the specific activity of radionuclides in the children’s organisms made 13,9 %.

When processing the results the results of 6 children were not taken into account because of the following reasons:

- the following persons left the sanatorium-preventive clinic before the appointed time

- the following persons refused to take part in the Program because of their parents’ wish

Chief doctor of

the sanatorium-preventive clinic

“Silver Springs”

_________________ P.A. Malashenko

“___” _____________2001

Director of the

Institute of Radiation Safety

__________________V.B. Nesterenko

“___” _____________2001