Oyster Creek To Be Included In Pilot Cancer Study

The Oyster Creek Generating Station may be included in a pilot study of cancer risks in populations in close proximity to nuclear facilities.

The National Research Council will conduct the two-phase study, which was requested and will be funded by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC), on the 104 nuclear reactors and 13 fuel cycle facilities licensed throughout the country.

Phase one will identify scientific approaches for the study while phase two, if the NRC chooses to proceed, would actually carry it out.

The study is a follow-up to one that was done in 1990 by the National Cancer Institute that had limitations and is now outdated, said John Burris, chair of the committee that wrote the report and president of Burroughs Wellcome Fund.

That finding stated, “If nuclear facilities posed a risk to neighboring populations, the risk was too small to be detected by a survey such as this one.”

"Finding scientific evidence of whether people who live near nuclear facilities have a greater risk of developing cancer than those who live farther away is a challenge," Burris said. "There are issues of whether scientists can get the information needed to carry out the study.”

Some cancer registries only contain recent data and data could be insufficient to estimate the amount of radioactive material released from nuclear facilities, he said.

“This makes it much more difficult to determine risks from decades ago when radiation releases from nuclear facilities were larger," Burris said. 

The research council proposed two approaches to the study. One would investigate rates of cancer occurrence and cancer deaths in small geographic areas within 30 miles of nuclear facilities. The other would be to conduct a record-based case-control study to assess the association of cancers in children under 15 years old in relation to their mothers’ residential proximity to the facility during pregnancy.

Both approaches would have a sub-analysis focusing on leukemia, a form of cancer associated with radiation exposure in children.

A report released by the research council identifies potential challenges in the study, including uneven availability of data. After phase one is presented, the NRC will decide to move forward or forego the study.

If the NRC chooses to move forward, the research council would conduct a pilot study with six nuclear power plants, including Oyster Creek, and one fuel cycle facility.

“One of the recommendations from the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in the report issued last week includes a pilot study that would obtain effluent release and meteorology data for six nuclear power plants and one nuclear fuel production facility,” NRC spokewman Neil Sheehan said. “The data would then be studied along with cancer incidence and mortality information for the surrounding 50 kilometers.”

The NRC is still reviewing the research council’s report, he said. After a public comment period regarding the initial report is completed, the NRC will decide on the next step. The study’s inception would be a multi-year initiative.

Sheehan could not say what actions could be taken if a link is found between cancer and nuclear power plants.