Updated investigations of cancer excesses in individuals born or resident in the vicinity of Sellafield and Dounreay

Abstract

Background:Earlier studies have shown raised risks of leukaemia and non-Hodgkin lymphoma in children, teenagers and young adults resident either at birth or diagnosis in Seascale. Some increases in cancer risk in these age groups have also been noted among those living around Dounreay. We aimed to update previous analyses relating to areas close to these nuclear installations by considering data from an additional 16 years of follow-up.Methods:Cross-sectional analyses compared cancer incidence rates for 1963–2006 among those aged 0–24 years at diagnosis living in geographically specified areas around either Sellafield or Dounreay with general population rates. Cancer incidence for the period 1971–2006 among the cohort of Cumbrian births between 1950 and 2006 was compared to national incidence for 1971–2006 using person-years analysis. Cancer among those born in the postcode sector closest to Dounreay was compared with that among those born in the three adjoining postcode sectors. Analyses considered both cancer overall and ICD-O-3 defined diagnostic subgroups including leukaemia, central nervous system tumours and other malignancies.Results:Apart from previously reported raised risks, no new significantly increased risks for cancer overall or any diagnostic subgroup were found among children or teenagers and young adults living around either nuclear installation. Individuals born close to the installations from 1950 to 2006 were not shown to be at any increased risk of cancer during the period 1971 to date.Conclusions:Analysis of recent data suggests that children, teenagers and young adults currently living close to Sellafield and Dounreay are not at an increased risk of developing cancer. Equally, there is no evidence of any increased cancer risk later in life among those resident in these areas at birth.

A geographical study of thyroid cancer incidence in north-west England following the Windscale nuclear reactor fire of 1957

“…Levels of iodine-129 in thyroids decreased significantly, whereas the age-and sex-adjusted incidence rate of thyroid cancer increased significantly, with distance from Sellafield. Bowlt and Tiplady [69] reported that during 1969-1986 the thyroid cancer incidence rate for Cumbria relative to the national rate, at 0.77, was significantly low, particularly so for Copeland District (0.49) containing Sellafield, but these ratios are not directly comparable with those obtained from our study -Bowlt and Tiplady [69] [70] potentially permits a study of thyroid cancer risk among those born during 1950-1958 with respect to individual thyroid doses assessed to have been received as a result of the radioiodine released during the Windscale Fire; such a study could address many of the limitations of the "ecological" study reported here, and would be preferable to attempts to refine the geographical approach to investigating thyroid cancer risk related to the Windscale accident.…”

A case–control study of occupational contact levels in the childhood leukaemia cluster at Seascale, Cumbria, UK

“…The cases investigated were the 13 cases of LNHL under 25 years of age associated with Seascale, while under 25 years of age at diagnosis; they were recorded in the period 1950–2006, though in fact all were diagnosed before 1992. 7 15 16 These cases were ascertained from a national series of leukaemia death certificates assembled by the Medical Research Council and from local clinicians 4 ; all have previously been listed in COMARE reports, 7 16 though (as here) anonymously. They comprise 11 cases resident in Seascale at diagnosis, together with 2 cases diagnosed within a few months of leaving the village.…”

Childhood leukaemia and nuclear installations: the long and winding road

“…The findings of Bunch et al (2014) , published in this issue of BJC , provide the latest twist in the long-running tale of childhood leukaemia and nuclear installations. The saga effectively started 30 years ago when the Independent Advisory Group (Chairman: Sir Douglas Black) (1984) confirmed a media report of an ∼10-fold excess incidence of childhood leukaemia over three decades in the village of Seascale on the Cumbrian coast of Northwest England.…”

“…The periods during which the excesses have been apparent have added to the puzzle: in Seascale the cluster started in the early 1950s and existed until at least the early 1990s ( Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the Environment (COMARE), 1996 ), while around Dounreay the increased incidence seems to have been concentrated in the 1980s ( Black et al , 1994 ). Now, Bunch et al (2014) , after examining leukaemia incidence in young people during 1963–2006, have found that the excesses of cases in Seascale and around Dounreay disappeared in the early-1990s, compounding the problems of interpretation.…”