Study Suggests Three Mile Island Radiation May Have Injured People Living
Near Reactor
CHAPEL HILL -- Exposure to high doses of radiation shortly
after the nuclear accident at Three Mile Island may have increased cancer among
Pennsylvanians downwind of the plant, scientists at the University of North
Carolina at Chapel Hill say.
Dr. Steven Wing, associate professor of epidemiology at the UNC-CH
School of Public Health, led a study of cancer cases within 10 miles of the
facility from 1975 to 1985. He and colleagues conclude that following the March
28, 1979 accident, lung cancer and leukemia rates were two to 10 times higher
downwind of the Three Mile Island (TMI) reactor than upwind.
A paper Wing and colleagues wrote appears in the January issue of the
journal Environmental Health Perspectives, scheduled to appear Feb. 24. They
first presented their findings last July at the University of Portsmouth in
Portsmouth, United Kingdom, at the International Workshop on Radiation Exposures
by Nuclear Facilities.
"I would be the first to say that our study doesn't prove by itself that
there were high-level radiation exposures, but it is part of a body of evidence
that is consistent with high exposures," Wing said. "The cancer findings, along
with studies of animals, plants and chromosomal damage in Three Mile Island area
residents, all point to much higher radiation levels than were previously
reported. If you say that there was no high radiation, then you are left with
higher cancer rates downwind of the plume that are otherwise unexplainable."
Co-authors of the report are Dr. Douglas Crawford-Brown, professor of
environmental sciences and engineering, and Dr. Donna Armstrong and David
Richardson, former and current doctoral students in epidemiology, all at UNC-CH.
The new study involved re-analyzing data from a 1990 report that
concluded the nation's worst civilian nuclear accident was not responsible for
slightly increased cancer rates near the plant because radiation exposures were
too low. Wing and colleagues re-examined data from that report using what they
believed were better analytic and statistical techniques.
"Several hundred people at the time of the accident reported nausea,
vomiting, hair loss and skin rashes, and a number said their pets died or had
symptoms of radiation exposure," he said. "We figured that if that were
possible, we ought to look at it again. After adjusting for pre-accident cancer
incidence, we found a striking increase in cancers downwind from Three Mile
Island."
The scientists do not believe smoking and social and economic factors
were responsible for the increased cancers found in the downwind sectors.
Many earlier researchers, as well as government and industry officials,
accept as fact that only small amounts of radiation were released into the
atmosphere, Wing said. But it is known that plant radiation monitors went off
scale when the accident started. Plumes containing higher radiation could
have passed undetected, he said.
Findings from the re-analysis of cancer incidence around TMI is
consistent with the theory that radiation from the accident increased cancer in
areas that were in the path of radioactive plumes, the scientist said.
"This cancer increase would not be expected to occur over a short time
in the general population unless doses were far higher than estimated by
industry and government authorities," Wing said. "Our findings support the
allegation that the people who reported rashes, hair loss, vomiting and pet
deaths after the accident were exposed to high level radiation and not only
suffering from emotional stress."
The UNC-CH scientist said he found it ironic that U.S. District Court
Judge Sylvia Rambo dismissed more than 2,000 damage claims filed against the
power plant by nearby residents last year citing a "paucity of proof" to support
their cases.
"Judge Rambo spent a year or more throwing out scientific evidence
presented by the plaintiffs," he said. "After she threw out the evidence that
people had been injured by the accident, including part of our work, then she
ruled that there wasn't enough to proceed with the case."
He also noted that the court gave attorneys for the nuclear industry the
right to review the earlier health effects research before it was made public.
"I think our findings show there ought to be a more serious
investigation of what happened after the Three Mile Island accident," Wing said.
Limitations of the new study, like the earlier work, include the
continuing difficulty of determining precise wind direction for several days
following the accident.
National Institute Press Release on Wing's TMI Study
Leukemia Society of America Article
Ion Science Article
