CANCER MORBIDITY RATES OF CHILDREN FROM THE VICINITY OF THE NUCLEAR-POWER-PLANT OF WURGASSEN (FRG)

The morbidity rates from neoplastic disease have been studied in children below the age of 15 years, residing at the time of their diagnosis within a diameter of 25 km of the nuclear power plant of Wurgassen (FRG). A total of 42 patients were registered between the years of 1980 and 1988: 15 patients with neoplasms of the hematolymphopoietic system, 14 neoplasms of the central nervous system (CNS), and 13 with solid tumors outside of the CNS. The data show that children living in the vicinity of this nuclear power plant do not have an increased risk of developing neoplastic disease, as compared to the entire pediatric population of the FRG. However, a tendency for an elevated risk, not reaching the level of statistical significance, cannot be fully excluded.