A. Yablokov: Nuclear Power Plant’ impact on the public health (meta-analysis)

Nuclear Power Plant’ impact on the public health (meta-analysis)


Any Nuclear power plant (NPP) routinely everyday throws out a plenty of radionuclides – products of fission and corrosion, - including radioactive hydrogen, carbon, iodine, cesium, cobalt, manganese, etc. in measurable concentrations, sometime in the concentration which are close to existing norms of radiation safety.
The detailed statistical data on morbidity and mortality around of the NPPs by are analyzed in the special literature only for the USA and Germany. In many studies (reviews see Bertell, 1985; Gould, 1996; Yablokov, 2001; Busby, 2003) statistically significant correlation of such parameters of health, as is found out:
- infant morality;
- children's death rate from a cancer;
- stillbirth rate;
- lowered weight at a birth;
- congenital developmental anomalies rate (and death rate from them);
- total cancer rate;
- leukemia (including – child leukemia);
- brest cancer rate;
- lung cancer;
- spontaneous abortions;
- chromosomal aberrations rate.
In a lot of cases these effects are confirmed also with such important method analytical epidemiology, as improvement of health after the termination of influence of the concrete NPP.
There hadn’t have any epidemiological study on the NPPs health impact in the USSR / RUSSIA. There are only separate messages in mass-media (on Leningrad and Kalinin NPPs), and the scientific literature (including on aging, infringement of immune system, lens’ opaque, etc.; Begun et al., 1996), and also the data on infringements of health of the personnel of the nuclear industry (incl.: Menaicheva et al., 2001; Pisarev et al., 2001; Petrushkina et al., 1999).
As a whole, undoubtedly, that the NPPs health impact demands special attention.
The review is supported by the European committee on radiating risk (ECCR) and Programs on nuclear and radiating safety of International social - ecological union (МСоЭС).