Cancer in Populations Living Near Nuclear Facilities

Testable hypotheses for cancer risks near nuclear facilities

Clarification of hypotheses can improve research design, measurements, data analysis, and interpretation of results. I will describe how hypotheses could be clarified during the design of an epidemiologic study of cancer risks near nuclear facilities in the United States. Based on what is known about age variation in radiation sensitivity and difficulties in evaluating other cancer risk factors...

Analysis of cancer risks in populations near nuclear facilities: Phase I. A report by the National Academies Nuclear and Radiation Studies Board.

This brief summary provides an overview of a recent National Academies (NA) report on the topic of cancer risks in populations living near U.S. nuclear power plants and facilities. The initial NA Phase I report describes general issues involved in providing scientifically valid descriptions of these risks, suggests two distinct study designs for further consideration, and proposes additional wo...

Cancer Risks near Nuclear Facilities: The Importance of Research Design and Explicit Study Hypotheses

BACKGROUND In April 2010, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission asked the National Academy of Sciences to update a 1990 study of cancer risks near nuclear facilities. Prior research on this topic has suffered from problems in hypothesis formulation and research design. OBJECTIVES We review epidemiologic principles used in studies of generic exposure-response associations and in studies of sp...

Commentary: childhood cancer near nuclear power stations

In 2008, the KiKK study in Germany reported a 1.6-fold increase in solid cancers and a 2.2-fold increase in leukemias among children living within 5 km of all German nuclear power stations. The study has triggered debates as to the cause(s) of these increased cancers. This article reports on the findings of the KiKK study; discusses past and more recent epidemiological studies of leukemias near...

Decommissioning of Nuclear Facilities