Hungary denies Chernobyl cancer link

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

This a very interesting article from Hungary, regarding Chernobyl and 
reported increases in cancer incidence. I like the use of realistic 
statistical analysis tools and considerations. Quite refreshing!

                   BUDAPEST, March 9 (AFP) - Hungarian officials
                   denied Monday there was a link between an increase
                   in cancer cases and the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear
                   plant disaster.

                   The denial came as an official report said cancer
                   deaths have risen sharply, putting the illness
                   among the three prime causes of death in Hungary
                   last year.

                   Deaths caused by cancer accounted for 23.58 percent
                   of all deaths, said the report, commissioned by the
                   government in January and published in the Magyar
                   Hirlap daily newspaper.

                   According to the Central Statistical Bureau, 33,475
                   people died of cancer last year, as opposed to
                   30,871 in 1990 and 27,550 in 1980.

                   One unnamed official suggest a link with the 1986
                   Chernobyl nuclear disaster. "We are not expected to
                   tell this but since the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear
                   disaster, the number of cancer deaths have jumped
                   up," said the official on state radio.

                   But other officials refused to support his view.
                   "There was no spectacular jump in the number of
                   cancer cases after 1986," Tibor Mate of the
                   National Oncology Society told AFP.

                   "There has been a dynamic rise in cancer deaths but
                   this has specific Hungarian reasons: excessive
                   smoking and wrong eating habits," Mate said.

                   Meanwhile the government report said circulatory
                   problems caused 52 percent of the deaths while 27
                   percent could be directly linked with tobacco and
                   alcohol consumption.

                   However, life expectancy has improved over the past
                   four years according to the report. Life expectancy
                   exceeded "the critical 70-year limit" for the first
                   time in 1996, it said.

                   Women, as everywhere, live longer than men. Last
                   year, the life expectancy of men was 66.1 years
                   while women were expected to live 74.5 years, it
                   said.

                   "But improving death rates do not mean that the
                   health conditions of the population have improved",
                   Magyar Hirlap said, adding that last year, the
                   death rate of men of between 35 and 65 years of age
                   was "only slightly better than in 1920-1921".
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Sandy Perle
Technical Director
ICN Dosimetry Division
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Office: (800) 548-5100 x2306 
Fax:    (714) 668-3149
  
sandyfl@earthlink.net
sperle@icnpharm.com

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