Nuclear power plants do not promote malformations?

Supposedly, nuclear power plants do not favor the risk of congenital malformation of children. Nuclear opponents criticize the study as "argumentative aid to help the nuclear industry".

(22.07.2010) According to a study, children who are born in the vicinity of nuclear power plants do not have an increased risk of congenital malformations than children born in other regions of Germany. Nuclear opponents criticize the results of the study as "Protect the nuclear industry".

A study carried out by the University of Mainz on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection (BfS) came to the conclusion that babies born in the vicinity of nuclear reactors are not at an increased risk of suffering from congenital malformations. The study examined the birth register of the regions. The scientists scoured the registrations of malformations of children who occurred at birth. A radius of 10 kilometers was examined around the nuclear power plants in Biblis in Hessen and Phillipsburg in Baden-Wuerttemberg. For comparison, birth records of other regions of Germany were also examined in which there were no nuclear power plants.

The researchers report that they also compared the rates of miscarriage, malformations and stillbirths. All births and miscarriages between November 2006 and February 2008 were recorded in the study. In total, the data from 5273 children and fetuses, including 5218 live births, 30 dead and 25 miscarriages were evaluated. According to the University of Mainz, no difference could be identified between the frequency of congenital malformations near nuclear power plants and the comparative data of other regions. Even with increasing proximity to the place of residence to the nuclear power plant, no increase in risk was observed.

However, it could be observed that women who are exposed to increased radiation concentrations at work have a higher rate of miscarriage. However, as the Federal Office for Radiation Protection announced, this result would be "based on a few individual cases". A direct connection could not be proven and should now be further investigated.

Incidence of cancer tumors and childhood leukemia noted as early as 2007:
Already in 2007, the frequent occurrence of cancerous tumors in children under 5 in the nearer region was investigated by all nuclear power plants in Germany on behalf of the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. The scientists were able to determine that infants are more likely to develop cancer than in other regions. In particular, blood cancer (leukemia) was particularly common in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. But until today a clear connection is denied and the BfS claims that the radiation exposure of the nuclear power plants alone are not responsible for the increased cancer rate of the children. According to the "current scientific knowledge" nuclear power plants are not alone responsible, as it was 2007 at the conclusion of the study.

Criticism of the study results
The physicians organization "International Doctors for the Prevention of the Nuclear War, Physicians in Social Responsibility" (IPPNW) criticizes the newly presented study by the Federal Office for Radiation Protection. The study was an "argumentative aid to help the nuclear industry." Due to the low number of cases, the study has "too little statistical detection power" to demonstrate a "similar effect as the 2007 study". This shows an analysis of the already published in March study by the physicist dr. Alfred Körblein. It is criticized that the evaluation was carried out only at two power plant sites (NPP Phillipsburg and the NPP Biblis) within a radius of only 10 km, and the study period lasted just 15 months. Despite the thin data, however, a clear increase in the risk of proximity to the nuclear power plant is evident if the evaluation of the data is limited to the distance range of more than 3 km.

According to the IPPNW, the scientists of the University of Mainz would give the impression that it was "scientifically proven" that children whose mothers live near nuclear power plants do not have an increased risk of developing malformations. However, the 2007 study had already shown that the closer a child under the age of five lives to a nuclear power plant, the greater the likelihood for the child to develop cancer, and especially leukemia. Therefore, the atomic-critical physicians' organization calls for the radiation protection standards and limit values ​​not to be based on a healthy, young male, but on the extremely radiation-sensitive embryo. (Sb)