Radiation exposure has been linked to increased risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) for decades. CH is a relatively uncommon condition, occurring in about 1 of 2000 US births. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) leve...Radiation exposure has been linked to increased risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) for decades. CH is a relatively uncommon condition, occurring in about 1 of 2000 US births. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels for each child born in California permitted an analysis of combined confirmed and borderline CH cases. Borderline/confirmed CH cases are more than seven times greater than just confirmed cases. Airborne levels of gross beta nuclear radiation in the US were elevated in the period starting several days after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, especially in west coast states like California. The borderline/confirmed CH rate for newborns during the last 9.5 months in 2011 (exposed to Fukushima in utero) vs. births during other periods in 2011 and 2012 (not exposed) was significantly elevated, suggesting that adverse health effects to the newborn thyroid were not restricted to just a small number of confirmed CH cases. The sensitivity of the fetus to radiation exposure, plus the presence of thyroid-seeking radioiodine, suggest further analysis of Fukushima’s potential to cause adverse health effects in newborns is needed.展开更多
Thyroid cancer incidence has risen steadily in the US for several decades. While any cause of this trend has yet to be clearly identified, most analyses have concluded that there are factors other than improved detect...Thyroid cancer incidence has risen steadily in the US for several decades. While any cause of this trend has yet to be clearly identified, most analyses have concluded that there are factors other than improved detection accounting for the increase. Since exposure to radioactive iodine is the only acknowledged root cause of thyroid cancer, a review of temporal trends in incidence since the late 1970s near the Indian Point nuclear power plant, just 23 miles from the New York City border, was conducted. Rates in the four counties closest to Indian Point, where virtually the entire population resides within 20 miles of the plant, were compared with national trends in the US. The relative ratio in the local area was 0.778 in the period 1976-1981, or 22.2 percent lower than the national rate. This ratio increased steadily, to 1.579 (57.9 percent greater than the US) by the period 2000-2004, which slightly declined to 1.515 (51.5 percent greater) in the latest period available (2010-2014). Significant increases occurred for both males and females, and in each of the four counties. Annual new cases diagnosed among residents of the four counties increased from 51 to 412 between 1976-1981 and 2010-2014. Because the two large reactors at Indian Point began operations in 1973 and 1976, and exposures to radioiodine isotopes can manifest as cancer from five years to several decades after exposure, iodine emissions from Indian Point emissions should be considered as a potential factor in these trends. More studies near Indian Point and other nuclear installations should be conducted to further explore this potential association.展开更多
Radioactive fallout after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown entered the U.S. environment within days;levels of radioactivity were particularly elevated in the five western states bordering on the Pacific Ocean...Radioactive fallout after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown entered the U.S. environment within days;levels of radioactivity were particularly elevated in the five western states bordering on the Pacific Ocean. The particular sensitivity of the fetus to radiation exposure, and the ability of radioisotopes to attach to cells, tissues, and DNA raise the question of whether fetuses/newborns with birth defects with the greater exposures suffered elevated harm during the period after the meltdown. We compare rates of five congenital anomalies for 2010 and 2011 births from April-November. The increase of 13.00% in the five western states is significantly greater than the 3.77% decrease for all other U.S. states combined (CI 0.030 - 0.205, p < 0.008). Consistent patterns of elevated increases are observed in the west (20 of 21 comparisons, 6 of which are statistically significant/borderline significant), by state, type of birth defect, month of birth, and month of conception. While these five anomalies are relatively uncommon (about 7500 cases per year in the U.S.), sometimes making statistical significance difficult to achieve, the consistency of the results lend strength to the analysis, and suggest fetal harm from Fukushima may have occurred in western U.S. states.展开更多
The Salem/Hope Creek nuclear plant in southern New Jersey is one of just four U.S. plants with three large reactors (all others consist of one or two). These reactors started operations in 1976, 1980, and 1986 and rou...The Salem/Hope Creek nuclear plant in southern New Jersey is one of just four U.S. plants with three large reactors (all others consist of one or two). These reactors started operations in 1976, 1980, and 1986 and routinely released toxic radioactive gases and particles into the environment. Only a single study has been performed by federal officials on cancer near nuclear plants—a study now 30 years old. A review of official mortality data using four-year periods shows the Salem County cancer death rate was consistently just below that of other New Jersey counties up to the mid-1980s. However, from 1983-1986 to 2015-2017, the county rate soared from -5.4% below the rest of the state to +32.6% above. The county/state mortality ratio for all causes also increased rapidly in these periods, from +0.6% above to +28.4% above the state. Salem now has the highest cancer death rate, and the 2nd highest total death rate of any New Jersey county. Had the 1983-1986 county-state ratios not changed in the following 31 years, 3493 fewer deaths (1018 of them from cancer) would have occurred among Salem County residents. The lack of any apparent etiologies that could have caused such a dramatic and unexpected change, plus the fact that the Salem/Hope Creek reactors are aging, corroding, and more prone to leaking radionuclides, emphasizes the immediate need for more studies of this type, and the inclusion of local health as a crucial factor in public decisions on the plant’s future.展开更多
文摘Radiation exposure has been linked to increased risk of congenital hypothyroidism (CH) for decades. CH is a relatively uncommon condition, occurring in about 1 of 2000 US births. Thyroid Stimulating Hormone (TSH) levels for each child born in California permitted an analysis of combined confirmed and borderline CH cases. Borderline/confirmed CH cases are more than seven times greater than just confirmed cases. Airborne levels of gross beta nuclear radiation in the US were elevated in the period starting several days after the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, especially in west coast states like California. The borderline/confirmed CH rate for newborns during the last 9.5 months in 2011 (exposed to Fukushima in utero) vs. births during other periods in 2011 and 2012 (not exposed) was significantly elevated, suggesting that adverse health effects to the newborn thyroid were not restricted to just a small number of confirmed CH cases. The sensitivity of the fetus to radiation exposure, plus the presence of thyroid-seeking radioiodine, suggest further analysis of Fukushima’s potential to cause adverse health effects in newborns is needed.
文摘Thyroid cancer incidence has risen steadily in the US for several decades. While any cause of this trend has yet to be clearly identified, most analyses have concluded that there are factors other than improved detection accounting for the increase. Since exposure to radioactive iodine is the only acknowledged root cause of thyroid cancer, a review of temporal trends in incidence since the late 1970s near the Indian Point nuclear power plant, just 23 miles from the New York City border, was conducted. Rates in the four counties closest to Indian Point, where virtually the entire population resides within 20 miles of the plant, were compared with national trends in the US. The relative ratio in the local area was 0.778 in the period 1976-1981, or 22.2 percent lower than the national rate. This ratio increased steadily, to 1.579 (57.9 percent greater than the US) by the period 2000-2004, which slightly declined to 1.515 (51.5 percent greater) in the latest period available (2010-2014). Significant increases occurred for both males and females, and in each of the four counties. Annual new cases diagnosed among residents of the four counties increased from 51 to 412 between 1976-1981 and 2010-2014. Because the two large reactors at Indian Point began operations in 1973 and 1976, and exposures to radioiodine isotopes can manifest as cancer from five years to several decades after exposure, iodine emissions from Indian Point emissions should be considered as a potential factor in these trends. More studies near Indian Point and other nuclear installations should be conducted to further explore this potential association.
文摘Radioactive fallout after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear meltdown entered the U.S. environment within days;levels of radioactivity were particularly elevated in the five western states bordering on the Pacific Ocean. The particular sensitivity of the fetus to radiation exposure, and the ability of radioisotopes to attach to cells, tissues, and DNA raise the question of whether fetuses/newborns with birth defects with the greater exposures suffered elevated harm during the period after the meltdown. We compare rates of five congenital anomalies for 2010 and 2011 births from April-November. The increase of 13.00% in the five western states is significantly greater than the 3.77% decrease for all other U.S. states combined (CI 0.030 - 0.205, p < 0.008). Consistent patterns of elevated increases are observed in the west (20 of 21 comparisons, 6 of which are statistically significant/borderline significant), by state, type of birth defect, month of birth, and month of conception. While these five anomalies are relatively uncommon (about 7500 cases per year in the U.S.), sometimes making statistical significance difficult to achieve, the consistency of the results lend strength to the analysis, and suggest fetal harm from Fukushima may have occurred in western U.S. states.
文摘The Salem/Hope Creek nuclear plant in southern New Jersey is one of just four U.S. plants with three large reactors (all others consist of one or two). These reactors started operations in 1976, 1980, and 1986 and routinely released toxic radioactive gases and particles into the environment. Only a single study has been performed by federal officials on cancer near nuclear plants—a study now 30 years old. A review of official mortality data using four-year periods shows the Salem County cancer death rate was consistently just below that of other New Jersey counties up to the mid-1980s. However, from 1983-1986 to 2015-2017, the county rate soared from -5.4% below the rest of the state to +32.6% above. The county/state mortality ratio for all causes also increased rapidly in these periods, from +0.6% above to +28.4% above the state. Salem now has the highest cancer death rate, and the 2nd highest total death rate of any New Jersey county. Had the 1983-1986 county-state ratios not changed in the following 31 years, 3493 fewer deaths (1018 of them from cancer) would have occurred among Salem County residents. The lack of any apparent etiologies that could have caused such a dramatic and unexpected change, plus the fact that the Salem/Hope Creek reactors are aging, corroding, and more prone to leaking radionuclides, emphasizes the immediate need for more studies of this type, and the inclusion of local health as a crucial factor in public decisions on the plant’s future.
