RE: Solid-Tumor Mortality in the Vicinity of Uranium Cycle Facilities and Nuclear Po

["Jim Otton" <jkotton@usgs.gov>]

Jim,

The results are extremely interesting, but not surprising.  Areas where

uranium mines and mills occur are places where the natural radiation

environment is often enhanced (elevated radon, radium, and uranium in ground

water; elevated indoor radon- both from soil sources and domestic water

supplies; and, in some areas, elevated natural gamma).  Thus, one might

expect elevated relative risk for lung cancer (indoor radon) and renal

cancer (ingested uranium).

The International Atomic Energy Agency, Division of Nuclear Fuels, Vienna,

has commissioned a report on the natural radiation and radiochemical

background near uranium deposits.  I am involved in that study and will be

writing the section on the natural background of U.S. uranium deposits.



Jim Otton

U.S. Geological Survey

Lakewood, Colorado



-----Original Message-----

From: owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

[mailto:owner-radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu]On Behalf Of Jim Nelson

Sent: Friday, August 24, 2001 9:54 AM

To: radsafe@list.vanderbilt.edu

Subject: Solid-Tumor Mortality in the Vicinity of Uranium Cycle

Facilities and Nuclear Po





Has anyone reviewed this paper?



http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109p721-729lopez-abente/abstract.html

Environmental Health Perspectives Volume 109, Number 7, July 2001



Solid-Tumor Mortality in the Vicinity of Uranium Cycle Facilities and

Nuclear Power Plants in Spain

Gonzalo López-Abente, Nuria Aragonés, and Marina Pollán



Cancer Epidemiology Unit, National Center for Epidemiology, Carlos III

Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain







----------------------------------------------------------------------------

----

Abstract

To ascertain solid tumor mortality in towns near Spain's four nuclear power

plants and four nuclear fuel facilities from 1975 to 1993, we conducted a

mortality study based on 12,245 cancer deaths in 283 towns situated within a

30-km radius of the above installations. As nonexposed areas, we used 275

towns lying within a 50- to 100-km radius of each installation, matched by

population size and sociodemographic characteristics (income level,

proportion of active population engaged in farming, proportion of

unemployed, percentage of illiteracy, and province). Using log-linear

models, we examined relative risk for each area and trends in risk with

increasing proximity to an installation. The results reveal a pattern of

solid-tumor mortality in the vicinity of uranium cycle facilities, basically

characterized by excess lung [relative risk (RR) 1.12, 95% confidence

interval (CI), 1.02-1.25] and renal cancer mortality (RR 1.37, 95% CI,

1.07-1.76). Besides the effects of natural radiation, these results could

well be evincing the influence on public health exerted by the environmental

impact of mining. No such well-defined pattern appeared in the vicinity of

nuclear power plants. Monitoring of cancer incidence and mortality is

recommended in areas surrounding nuclear fuel facilities and nuclear power

plants, and more specific studies are called for in areas adjacent to

installations that have been fully operational for longer periods. In this

regard, it is important to use dosimetric information in all future studies.

Key words: environment, epidemiology, ionizing, mortality, neoplasms,

nuclear facilities, radiation, uranium mines. Environ Health Perspect

109:721-729 (2001). [Online 11 July 2001]

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/docs/2001/109p721-729lopez-abente/abstract.html











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