Nuclear Agency Kills Cancer Study

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission last week canceled a controversial study of cancer risk in populations near nuclear power plants. The research would have updated and expanded on a 25-year-old National Cancer Institute study that only considered mortality incidents in two states. The National Academy of Sciences was to conduct the study for NRC and was in the early phases of developing a methodology and applying it at seven reactor sites. The pilot program would take 39 months and cost $8 million, and the complete study could take until 2025 with “excessive costs,” NRC says. The academy offered a scaled-back version, but NRC says the alternative was too limited and canceled the program. Instead, NRC says it will monitor health studies, “if relevant.” Environmental and scientific critics, such as the Union of Concerned Scientists and Beyond Nuclear, oppose NRC’s decision, saying European studies have raised flags about cancer incidents near plants. They were joined by Sen. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), who in 2005 had urged NRC to fund the study.