High
cancer rates near Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant
A report by
the World Business Academy that details negative health trends in the
area surrounding the Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant in San Luis
Obispo County was released Monday.
4
March, 2014
Stephen
W. Hosea, MD, the associate director of Internal Medicine Education
at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital, concluded after reading the report
that those living near Diablo have higher cancer risks.
“The
data contained in this report support a remarkable predisposition of
persons living within a 15 mile radius of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant
to have a significantly increased incidence of various cancers,
including thyroid, breast and melanoma,” Hosea said. “Exposure to
radiation is well known to result in an increased risk of developing
cancer. Until an alternative plausible explanation is provided, the
overwhelmingly logical conclusion must be that the exposure to
radiation as a direct consequence of living within a 15 mile radius
of Diablo Canyon Nuclear Plant results in an increased risk of
developing cancer.”
The
report listed the following major findings about local health
patterns:
1.
Since the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant opened in the mid-1980s,
San Luis Obispo County has changed from a relatively low-cancer to a
high-cancer county.
2.
Due to increases in the San Luis Obispo County cancer rate during
2001-2010, an additional 738 people were diagnosed with cancer.
3.
Cancer incidence in San Luis Obispo County rose from 0.4 percent
below to 6.9 percent above the average for the state of California
during the time period of 1988-1990 to 2003-2010. The current cancer
rate is the highest of all 20 counties in southern California.
4.
After Diablo Canyon began operating, significant rapid increases
occurred for the incidence of thyroid and female breast cancer in San
Luis Obispo County, both highly radiosensitive cancers.
5.
After Diablo Canyon began operating, infant mortality in San Luis
Obispo County rose significantly.
6.
After Diablo Canyon began operating, child/adolescent cancer
mortality in the county rose rapidly.
7.
Melanoma incidence in San Luis Obispo County soared from 3.6 percent
above to 130.2 percent above the state incidence rate during the
period from 1988-1990 to 2003-2010, and is now the highest of all
California counties.
8.
Cancer mortality for people of all ages in San Luis Obispo County
rose from 5.1 percent below to 1.4 percent above California from
1988-1990 to 2008-2010, making SLO the 25th highest county in the
state (up from 43rd highest).
9.
The ratio of babies born at very low-weight (below 3 pounds, 4
ounces) rose 45.0 percent higher in the nine San Luis Obispo County
zip codes closest to Diablo Canyon, versus the other more distant 10
county zip codes.
10.
The ratio of all-cause mortality rose 47.9 percent higher in the nine
San Luis Obispo County zip codes closest to Diablo Canyon, versus the
other more distant 10 county zip codes.
11.
In the 10 zip code areas in Santa Barbara County closest to Diablo
Canyon, there was a greater rise in the rates of infant mortality
(61.7 percent), low weight births (40.2 percent) and total mortality
(19.1 percent), than in the five zip codes areas in the city of Santa
Barbara, located approximately 90 miles from the reactors.
12.
The major findings of this report show increases in various rates of
disease and death in San Luis Obispo County, as compared to the state
of California, since the 1980s (before plant start up and during its
early years of operation). This includes increases in infant
mortality, child/adolescent cancer mortality, cancer incidence for
all ages (especially thyroid, female breast, and melanoma), and
cancer mortality for all ages.
Conclusions
and Recommendations:
While
many factors can affect disease and death rates, the official public
health data presented in this report suggest a probable link between
the routine, federally-permitted emissions of radioactivity from the
Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant and elevated health risks among
those infants, children and adults living closest to the reactors.
These
findings strongly suggest that federally-permitted radiation releases
pose a health risk to the public, especially to people living near
Diablo Canyon in California.
These
data also correspond with earlier studies showing significant
declines in local disease and death rates after the shutdown of the
Rancho Seco nuclear power plant in Sacramento County in 1989.
Nuclear
Hotseat #141: Shocking Cancer Stats @Diablo Canyon w/Dr. Jerry Brown
Listen
to podcast HERE
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