Living with nuclear power plant caused some children who get leukemia, said French double research. Article posted 13 January 2012

13 January 2012: source: International Journal of Cancer DOI: 10.1002/ijc 27425.

A long-year French research has shown that near nuclear power plants the chance of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia-ALL in children has doubled compared to resident elsewhere.

The nationwide so-calledcase-control Geocapstudy all registered cases of leukemia on mainland France in the period 1990-2007. The study compared then the incidence in the vicinity of 19 nuclear power plants in the period 2002 to 2007.

A odds ratio (OR) of 1.9 [1.0-3.3], based on 14 cases it was demonstrated for children who within 5 km of the nuclear power plants livedin comparison with those who 20 km lived or farther away. These results were similar for all age groups measured at 5 years. There was no overall increase of the ALL-incidence 1990-2001 nor over the entire period 1990-2007. The results suggest a possible increased risk of Acute lymphoblastic leukemia- ALL in the proximity of the French nuclear power plants in the period 2002-2007.

Here is the abstract of the study. Meds cape wrote about a bigger article and that you can read if you click here.

Childhood leukemia around French nuclear power plants – the Geocap study, 2002-2007

  1. Claire Sermage-Faure1, 2, 5,
  2. Dominique Laurier4.5,
  3. Stéphanie Goujon-Bellec1, 2, 3, 5,
  4. Michel Chartier4.5,
  5. Aurélie Goubin Guyot-1, 2, 3, 5,
  6. Jérémie Rudant1, 2, 3, 5,
  7. Denis Hémon1, 2, 5,
  8. Jacqueline Clavel1, 2, 3, 5, *,‡

DOI: 10.1002/ijc 27425.

Abstract

To study the risk of childhood acute leukemia (AL) around French nuclear power plants (NPPs).

The nationwide case-control study included the Geocap 2,753 cases diagnosed in mainland France on 2002-2007 and 30,000 contemporaneous population controls. The last addresses were geocoded and located around the NPPs 19. The study used distance to NPPs and a dose-based geographic zoning (DBGZ), based on the estimated dose to bone marrow related to NPP gaseous discharges.

An odds ratio (OR) or 1.9 [1.0-3.3], based on 14 cases, was evidenced for children living within 5 miles or 20 km, compared to those living NPPs or further away, and a very similar association was observed in the concomitant incidence study (standardized incidence ratio (SIR) = 1.9 [1.0-3.2]). These results were similar for all the 5-year age groups. They persisted after stratification for several contextual characteristics of the municipalities or residence. Conversely, using the DBGZ resulted in OR and SIR close to one in all of the dose categories. There was no increase in incidence ALREADY about 1990-2001 and over the entire 1990-2007 period. The results suggest a possible excess risk or already in the close vicinity of French NPPs in 2002-2007. The absence of any association with the DBGZ may indicate that the association is not explained by NPP gaseous discharges. Overall, the findings call for investigation for potential risk factors related to the vicinity of NPP, and collaborative analysis of multisite studies conducted in various countries.