Risks to nuclear workers

cluster near nuclear facilities in Europe was in 1984 in the UK near the Sellafield nuclear facility. In subsequent years, increased incidences of childhood leukemia occurred near other nuclear facilities in the UK,96,97 in France,98 and in Germany.99

In 2008, the German government published a major epidemiology study called Childhood Cancer in the Vicinity of Nuclear Power Plants. This report found a 120 percent increase in leukemia and a 60 percent increase in all cancers among infants and children under five years old living within five kilometers of all German reactors.100, 101 The increase of risk with proximity to the reactor site was statistically significant for all cancers. The study reignited the international debate on childhood leukemia near nuclear power plants. Researchers undertook similar studies in the UK,102 France,103 and Switzerland.104 Taken together, the research provides strong statistical evidence that leukemia increases near nuclear reactors.

Various studies have identified several possible causes for the phenomenon, including pre-paternal exposures to occupational doses received by fathers,105 a postulated virus from population-mixing,106 an unusual response to infectious diseases in children,107 a genetic pre-disposition to cancer, high labelling of the embryos/fetuses of pregnant women near nuclear power plants,108 or a combination of these factors. Whatever the final explanation, the evidence worldwide shows that living near nuclear reactors entails serious health risks for babies and young children.109 While the evidence of association strongly suggests living near nuclear power presents serious health risks the causes cannot be definitively determined and so the issue remains controversial.

RISKS TO NUCLEAR WORKERS

Over the past two decades, the average exposures of nuclear workers in European countries have generally declined. Much of the collective dose continues to be received by temporary workers, nuclear

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