The NRC tells people that living near nuclear power plants does not pose extra risk for cancer, and it points to a particular study, finished twenty years ago.(Photo courtesy of the Rancho Seco Reactor)
For decades, the federal government has said it’s safe to live near nuclear power reactors and it points to a particular cancer study to back that up. Shawn Allee reports, lately, the government worries that study’s out of date and it wants scientists to take another look.
Transcript
For decades, the federal government has said it’s safe to live near nuclear power reactors and it points to a particular cancer study to back that up. Shawn Allee reports, lately, the government worries that study’s out of date and it wants scientists to take another look.
The federal agency that’s looking for an up-to-date cancer study is the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, or NRC.
It’s asked the National Academy of Sciences to do that study, but the Academy hasn’t made up its mind. The academy asked the NRC, the nuclear power industry, and the public to explain why a new study’s even needed.
It broadcast the hearing over the Internet.
“Our first speaker is Sarah Sauer, private citizen.”
Sarah Sauer is 16, but looks much younger.
“I am one of the statistics you’ll be studying. When I was seven years old, I was diagnosed with brain cancer. I hope in this study you will remember who you’re doing this for.”
“Thank you Sarah, let me invite your parents to say something if they’d like to.”
“I am Cynthia Sauer, Sarah’s mom. For my family and i this study is long overdue. nine years ago today, Sarah was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. The pain has been so shattering that we still cannot give it words.”
Cynthia Sauer tells the National Academy how her family once lived near the Dresden nuclear power station, about 50 miles Southwest of Chicago.
She’d learned that power plant leaked radioactive water years ago.
Cynthia Sauer can’t say for sure the plant caused Sarah’s cancer, but she wonders … because other kids were diagnosed with cancer, too.
“I began searching for answers to my questions regarding the leaks and the numbers of children diagnosed with cancer in our small town.”
Cynthia Sauer turned to the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
The NRC tells people that living near nuclear power plants does not pose extra risk for cancer, and it points to a particular study, finished twenty years ago.
“The scientists in the ad hoc committee statement clearly stated the study was flawed and that further monitoring and investigation was needed.”
What are the flaws? For one, the old study concluded people living near nuclear power plants do not face extra risk of dying from cancer … but it didn’t answer whether they’re at risk of getting cancer.
It ignored cancer survivors or people who moved before dying of the disease.
Sauer tells the academy that … this is why we need a new cancer study – we just can’t be confident in the old one.
And that’s a problem because at least three million people live within ten miles of a nuclear power plant.
Some US Congressmen want the safety issue settled, and in fact, so does the nuclear power industry.
Ralph Anderson is with The Nuclear Energy Institute, a trade group.
He says other studies suggest power plants are safe … so the industry has nothing to worry about from a new study – unless the Academy misinterprets results:
“There have been studies where people simply collect the data and let the computer go to work to bend the data in a wide variety of ways. We have been the victim of a number studies that have done precisely that. So, you end up with weird age groups and things like that because the data’s carefully selected to prove the point. That’s what we’d like to see avoided.”
So the public, the government and industry want some kind of follow-up study on cancer rates near nuclear power plants.
But that might not be enough for The National Academy of Sciences to move forward.
Many scientists say we can’t begin good studies, because it’s hard to collect the necessary data.
In fact, one group that says that … is the same group that conducted the original cancer study twenty years ago.
For The Environment Report, I’m Shawn Allee.