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Nuclear power plants do not raise risk of leukaemia in children, study finds

BMJ 2013; 347 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.f5602 (Published 13 September 2013) Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f5602
  1. Zosia Kmietowicz
  1. 1BMJ

Living near a nuclear power plant does not raise the risk of leukaemia or non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children aged under 5 years, a review of cases in Britain over 45 years has found.

The incidence of leukaemia near nuclear power plants in Britain was first highlighted in a television documentary in 1983 that found an excess of cancer cases among young people living near the Sellafield plant in Cumbria. A year later a report confirmed a large and unexpected incidence of childhood leukaemia in the nearby coastal village of Seascale, which led to the establishment of the Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment.

The committee found a very small or no …

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