No Three Mile Island, Cancer Link

["Sandy Perle" <sandyfl@earthlink.net>]

No Three Mile Island, Cancer Link

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) - A 13-year study of people living near the 
Three Mile Island nuclear plant found no link between the radiation 
released during the 1979 accident and cancer deaths among 
nearby residents. 

The University of Pittsburgh study, posted on the Internet on 
Thursday, should give some reassurance to people who live near 
the site of the nation's worst commercial nuclear accident. But it 
does not eliminate the need to continue monitoring their health, the 
lead researcher said. 

The accident, triggered by equipment malfunction and operator 
error on March 28, 1979, caused about a third of the nuclear fuel to 
melt inside a reactor just outside Middletown, about 10 miles from 
Harrisburg. The plant's owners maintain that only a negligible 
amount of radiation escaped from the plant. 

At least 15 other studies have explored the health effects of the 
accident, but the University of Pittsburgh research covers the 
longest time span so far - from the time of the accident through 
1992. 

It follows more than 32,000 people who lived within five miles of the 
plant and who were interviewed by state health workers within two 
months of the accident. 

Researchers found no significant increase in cancer deaths among 
nearby residents when compared to a larger population in three 
counties surrounding the plant, said Evelyn Talbott, an associate 
professor of epidemiology at the University of Pittsburgh. 

Researchers were unable to factor in other potential influences on 
the results, nor were they able to say whether stress stemming 
from the accident had a long-term impact on residents' health, 
Talbott said. 

``There are a lot of things that cause cancer and a lot of things that 
need to be measured,'' she said. ``We can only measure so many 
of them.'' 

The study did find increases in certain types of cancer, but it failed 
to turn up a link to the dosages of radiation that residents were 
believed to have received, she said. 

Talbott said further study is needed. Many cancers can remain 
latent for two decades or more, and the university's researchers are 
obtaining the data needed for a 20-year study. 

One anti-nuclear activist, Eric Epstein, was skeptical of the study, 
saying the state's original survey of residents was flawed. He has 
called for studies extending 10 miles from the plant. 

``This is just a recitation of the industry line. It is absolutely nothing 
new,'' said Epstein. 

The study was posted on the Internet site of Environmental Health 
Perspectives. The paper will appear in the June issue of the journal, 
which is produced by the National Institute of Environmental 
Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health. 

On the Net: 

Abstract of article: 
http://ehis.niehs.nih.gov/docs/admin/newest.html 

National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: 
http://www.niehs.nih.gov 

Three Mile Island Alert: http://www.tmia.com/ 
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sandy Perle					Tel:(714) 545-0100 / (800) 548-5100   				    	
Director, Technical				Extension 2306 				     	
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Division		Fax:(714) 668-3149 	                   		    
ICN Biomedicals, Inc.				E-Mail: sandyfl@earthlink.net 				                           
ICN Plaza, 3300 Hyland Avenue  		E-Mail: sperle@icnpharm.com          	          
Costa Mesa, CA 92626

Personal Website:  http://www.geocities.com/capecanaveral/1205
ICN Worldwide Dosimetry Website: http://www.dosimetry.com
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