What response did district medical officers make to the Chernobyl disaster?
Graham Bickler, Registrar in Community Medicine Lesley Morrison Department of Community Medicine, City & Hackney Health Authority, St Bartholomew’s Hospital West Smithfield, London ECIA 7BE Address correspondence to Dr G. Bickler, Lecturer in Community Medicine, Camberwell Health Authority, King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill, London SE5 9RS All District Medical Officers (DMOs), or their equivalents, in England, Wales and Scotland were sent a postal questionnaire about the enquiries they received following the Chernobyl incident and what action they took in response to them. The response rate was 89 per cent. Very few enquiries were received and these were referred to an extremely wide range of other bodies and institutions. About half the DMOs tried to obtain information about local radiation levels, but had little success. Most liaised with environmental health officers, and many contacted other authorities; overall about 40 such bodies were used. This large number mirrored many of
