July 18, 2007

Elevated Leukemia Rates In Children & Young Adults Near Nuclear Facilities

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Leukemia rates in children and young people are elevated near nuclear facilities. The research, published in European Journal of Cancer Care, came from a meta-analysis of 17 research papers covering 136 nuclear sites in the UK, Canada, France, the USA, Germany, Japan and Spain. Death rates for children up to the age of nine were elevated by between five and 24 per cent, depending on their proximity to nuclear facilities, and by two to 18 per cent in children and young people to the age of 25. No clear explanation exists to explain the rise. The authors say it’s “possible that there are environmental issues involved that we don’t yet understand” . . . Right. Like chronic underreporting of mishaps, accidents, and releases &mdash as recently as yesterday, by golly. JULIA WHITTY

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