Living near a nuclear power plant has been linked to higher cancer deaths

Researchers from the Harvard School of Public Health analysed data for all US counties and all operating nuclear power plants and found a link: cancer deaths are higher where the plant is closer to the plant. The work is published in Nature Communications.

The authors emphasise an important point: this is not proof of causation. The study shows a statistical link and suggests that the topic needs to be studied further - with more precise measurements of possible exposure pathways and taking into account the "lag" between exposure and disease development.

How "proximity to a nuclear power plant" was counted

The researchers used not just "within X kilometres" but a continuous proximity measure: they considered the contribution of all nuclear power plants within a radius of up to 200 kilometres, with the closer the plant, the greater its weight (a metric based on inverse distance). Data on the location and periods of NPP operation were taken from US energy statistics sources; cancer mortality was taken from national statistics.

What was taken into account to avoid confounding with other factors

The models were adjusted for possible confounding factors: socioeconomic indicators, demographics, behavioural risks, climate parameters and access to medicine (e.g. proximity to a hospital). The association between proximity to a nuclear power plant and cancer mortality was then maintained.

Who had a stronger association

The effect was stronger in the older groups, with the article separately noting peaks by age (e.g. men 65-74 and women 55-64 in their analyses).

What this means in practice

The authors' conclusion is cautious: the results do not prove that NPPs directly cause cancer, but they do point to a potentially important risk that may be underestimated - and worth testing with more "direct" methods, including measurement and clarification of specific cancer types.