Skip to main content
PMC home page
Environmental Health Perspectives logoLink to Environmental Health Perspectives
. 2001 Jul;109(7):721–729. doi: 10.1289/ehp.109-1240377

Solid-tumor mortality in the vicinity of uranium cycle facilities and nuclear power plants in Spain.

G López-Abente 1, N Aragonés 1, M Pollán 1
PMCID: PMC1240377  PMID: 11485872

Abstract

To ascertain solid tumor mortality in towns near Spain's four nuclear power plants and four nuclear fuel facilities from 1975 to 1993, we conducted a mortality study based on 12,245 cancer deaths in 283 towns situated within a 30-km radius of the above installations. As nonexposed areas, we used 275 towns lying within a 50- to 100-km radius of each installation, matched by population size and sociodemographic characteristics (income level, proportion of active population engaged in farming, proportion of unemployed, percentage of illiteracy, and province). Using log-linear models, we examined relative risk for each area and trends in risk with increasing proximity to an installation. The results reveal a pattern of solid-tumor mortality in the vicinity of uranium cycle facilities, basically characterized by excess lung [relative risk (RR) 1.12, 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.02-1.25] and renal cancer mortality (RR 1.37, 95% CI, 1.07-1.76). Besides the effects of natural radiation, these results could well be evincing the influence on public health exerted by the environmental impact of mining. No such well-defined pattern appeared in the vicinity of nuclear power plants. Monitoring of cancer incidence and mortality is recommended in areas surrounding nuclear fuel facilities and nuclear power plants, and more specific studies are called for in areas adjacent to installations that have been fully operational for longer periods. In this regard, it is important to use dosimetric information in all future studies.

Full Text

The Full Text of this article is available as a PDF (104.9 KB).

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Aickin M., Dunn C. N., Flood T. J. Estimation of population denominators for public health studies at the tract, gender, and age-specific level. Am J Public Health. 1991 Jul;81(7):918–920. doi: 10.2105/ajph.81.7.918. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Au W. W., Lane R. G., Legator M. S., Whorton E. B., Wilkinson G. S., Gabehart G. J. Biomarker monitoring of a population residing near uranium mining activities. Environ Health Perspect. 1995 May;103(5):466–470. doi: 10.1289/ehp.95103466. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. Au W. W., McConnell M. A., Wilkinson G. S., Ramanujam V. M., Alcock N. Population monitoring: experience with residents exposed to uranium mining/milling waste. Mutat Res. 1998 Sep 20;405(2):237–245. doi: 10.1016/s0027-5107(98)00141-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Au W. W., Wilkinson G. S., Tyring S. K., Legator M. S., el Zein R., Hallberg L., Heo M. Y. Monitoring populations for DNA repair deficiency and for cancer susceptibility. Environ Health Perspect. 1996 May;104 (Suppl 3):579–584. doi: 10.1289/ehp.96104s3579. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Baron J. A. Cancer mortality in small areas around nuclear facilities in England and Wales. Br J Cancer. 1984 Dec;50(6):815–824. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1984.261. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. Beral V. Childhood leukemia near nuclear plants in the United Kingdom: the evolution of a systematic approach to studying rare disease in small geographic areas. Am J Epidemiol. 1990 Jul;132(1 Suppl):S63–S68. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.aje.a115791. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Beral V., Fraser P., Carpenter L., Booth M., Brown A., Rose G. Mortality of employees of the Atomic Weapons Establishment, 1951-82. BMJ. 1988 Sep 24;297(6651):757–770. doi: 10.1136/bmj.297.6651.757. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. Blair A., Malker H., Cantor K. P., Burmeister L., Wiklund K. Cancer among farmers. A review. Scand J Work Environ Health. 1985 Dec;11(6):397–407. doi: 10.5271/sjweh.2208. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Cook-Mozaffari P. J., Darby S. C., Doll R., Forman D., Hermon C., Pike M. C., Vincent T. Geographical variation in mortality from leukaemia and other cancers in England and Wales in relation to proximity to nuclear installations, 1969-78. Br J Cancer. 1989 Mar;59(3):476–485. doi: 10.1038/bjc.1989.99. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Darby S. C., Whitley E., Howe G. R., Hutchings S. J., Kusiak R. A., Lubin J. H., Morrison H. I., Tirmarche M., Tomásek L., Radford E. P. Radon and cancers other than lung cancer in underground miners: a collaborative analysis of 11 studies. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Mar 1;87(5):378–384. doi: 10.1093/jnci/87.5.378. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Forastiere F., Quiercia A., Cavariani F., Miceli M., Perucci C. A., Axelson O. Cancer risk and radon exposure. Lancet. 1992 May 2;339(8801):1115–1115. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(92)90709-c. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Hattchouel J. M., Laplanche A., Hill C. Cancer mortality around French nuclear sites. Ann Epidemiol. 1996 Mar;6(2):126–129. doi: 10.1016/1047-2797(95)00130-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Henshaw D. L., Eatough J. P., Richardson R. B. Radon as a causative factor in induction of myeloid leukaemia and other cancers. Lancet. 1990 Apr 28;335(8696):1008–1012. doi: 10.1016/0140-6736(90)91071-h. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Howe G. R., Nair R. C., Newcombe H. B., Miller A. B., Abbatt J. D. Lung cancer mortality (1950-80) in relation to radon daughter exposure in a cohort of workers at the Eldorado Beaverlodge uranium mine. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1986 Aug;77(2):357–362. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Ibrahim S. A., Whicker F. W., Simon S. L. Ground distribution patterns of selected radioactive, chemical, and physical contaminants from dispersion of U mill tailings. Health Phys. 1990 Mar;58(3):321–328. doi: 10.1097/00004032-199003000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Jablon S., Hrubec Z., Boice J. D., Jr Cancer in populations living near nuclear facilities. A survey of mortality nationwide and incidence in two states. JAMA. 1991 Mar 20;265(11):1403–1408. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Lawson A. B. On the analysis of mortality events associated with a prespecified fixed point. J R Stat Soc Ser A Stat Soc. 1993;156(3):363–377. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Lubin J. H., Boice J. D., Jr, Edling C., Hornung R. W., Howe G. R., Kunz E., Kusiak R. A., Morrison H. I., Radford E. P., Samet J. M. Lung cancer in radon-exposed miners and estimation of risk from indoor exposure. J Natl Cancer Inst. 1995 Jun 7;87(11):817–827. doi: 10.1093/jnci/87.11.817. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. López-Abente G., Aragonés N., Pollán M., Ruiz M., Gandarillas A. Leukemia, lymphomas, and myeloma mortality in the vicinity of nuclear power plants and nuclear fuel facilities in Spain. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 1999 Oct;8(10):925–934. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. McLaughlin J. R., Clarke E. A., Nishri E. D., Anderson T. W. Childhood leukemia in the vicinity of Canadian nuclear facilities. Cancer Causes Control. 1993 Jan;4(1):51–58. doi: 10.1007/BF00051714. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Percy C., Stanek E., 3rd, Gloeckler L. Accuracy of cancer death certificates and its effect on cancer mortality statistics. Am J Public Health. 1981 Mar;71(3):242–250. doi: 10.2105/ajph.71.3.242. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Pershagen G., Akerblom G., Axelson O., Clavensjö B., Damber L., Desai G., Enflo A., Lagarde F., Mellander H., Svartengren M. Residential radon exposure and lung cancer in Sweden. N Engl J Med. 1994 Jan 20;330(3):159–164. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199401203300302. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Rodríguez Artalejo F., Castaño Lara S., de Andrés Manzano B., García Ferruelo M., Iglesias Martín L., Calero J. R. Occupational exposure to ionising radiation and mortality among workers of the former Spanish Nuclear Energy Board. Occup Environ Med. 1997 Mar;54(3):202–208. doi: 10.1136/oem.54.3.202. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. Ruttenber A. J., Jr, Kreiss K., Douglas R. L., Buhl T. E., Millard J. The assessment of human exposure to radionuclides from a uranium mill tailings release and mine dewatering effluent. Health Phys. 1984 Jul;47(1):21–35. doi: 10.1097/00004032-198407000-00002. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  25. Samet J. M., Pathak D. R., Morgan M. V., Key C. R., Valdivia A. A., Lubin J. H. Lung cancer mortality and exposure to radon progeny in a cohort of New Mexico underground uranium miners. Health Phys. 1991 Dec;61(6):745–752. doi: 10.1097/00004032-199112000-00005. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  26. Taylor D. M., Taylor S. K. Environmental uranium and human health. Rev Environ Health. 1997 Jul-Sep;12(3):147–157. doi: 10.1515/reveh.1997.12.3.147. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  27. Veska E., Eaton R. S. Abandoned Rayrock uranium mill tailings in the Northwest Territories: environmental conditions and radiological impact. Health Phys. 1991 Mar;60(3):399–409. doi: 10.1097/00004032-199103000-00010. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Environmental Health Perspectives are provided here courtesy of National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences

RESOURCES