Cancer around nuclear plant

Article Abstract:

A recent study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found a fourfold increase in the incidence of leukemia in people who lived and worked near the Pilgrim nuclear power plant from 1979 to 1983. This may coincide with a documented increase in radioactive emissions from the plant during the mid-1970s. In fact, the Pilgrim plant was described by federal officials as the 'worst-run' plant in the U.S., although the radiation levels were considered to have been within the Nuclear Regulatory Commission's limit of 500 millirem per year. Although the study has been criticized by Boston Edison, the utility that runs the plant, it is considered to have been well-designed. It was one of the first of such studies that corrected for possible confounding factors, such as tobacco use, occupation, and proximity to toxic waste dumps. This study will certainly cause controversy, since its findings contradict those of a recent National Cancer Institute study, which found no increase in cancer deaths around several nuclear facilities in the U.S. However, the findings are in agreement with a recent British study, which found an increase in leukemia in the vicinity of the Sellafield nuclear plant. As a result of the Pilgrim study, Massachusetts governor Michael Dukakis has requested that the state adopt a standard that would limit the radiation exposure of people living near nuclear power plants to 10 millirem per year.

Environmental aspects, Massachusetts, Leukemia, Pilgrim Nuclear Power Station

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Overall mortality and cancer mortality around French nuclear sites

Article Abstract:

To learn more about the possible effects of radiation exposure on cancer rates, people living near six nuclear reprocessing plants in France were studied. Results from other studies showed a higher than expected mortality among people younger than 25 years from leukemia in some regions in Britain. In the French study, four geographical zones of increasing distance from the facility were defined; communes (administrative and electoral areas) were selected within zones as the unit of analysis. A 'control' commune of similar population was selected for each 'exposed' commune. Using death records (which included cause of death) from 1968 to 1987 for people younger than 25, two comparisons were made: between the observed mortality and the mortality expected from national rates; and between the areas near nuclear sites and control regions. Results showed that there were 58 leukemia deaths during the time studied in exposed areas, which was less than the 66.9 deaths expected from calculations of national mortality statistics. Leukemia deaths were not associated with proximity to a nuclear installation, in contrast to the British studies. Explanations for the difference in results are briefly evaluated. (Consumer Summary produced by Reliance Medical Information, Inc.)

France, Demographic aspects, Childhood leukemia, Leukemia in children, Leukemia, Radiation-induced, Radiation induced leukemia

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