Early infant mortality in West Germany before and after Chernobyl

Early infant mortality rates in West Germany were plotted for regions with different radioactive burdens following the Chernobyl nuclear reactor explosion in April, 1986. In all regions, the logarithms of the mortality rates fitted a linear model between 1975 and 1985, but from May, 1986, immediately after the accident, there was a striking deviation from the model in areas with greatest radioactive fallout.