Nov. 28, 2013
press release
The Ministry of the Environment presents a report on the possible connection between cancer and the former THTR Hamm reactor
Evaluation of the Epidemiological Cancer Register NRW sees no impact on cancer in the surrounding population
++ SEND BLOCKING PERIOD, November 28, 2013, 01:00 a.m. +++
A current evaluation on behalf of the NRW Environment Ministry currently sees no influence of the former THTR Hamm nuclear reactor on cancer in the surrounding population. This is confirmed by a report by the Epidemiological Cancer Register of North Rhine-Westphalia, which examined the cancer rates in the population. For this purpose, the cancer frequencies in the surrounding municipalities of Hamm, Beckum, Ahlen, Lippetal and Welver were analyzed. "The people who live near the former nuclear reactor need security that they are not exposed to any health hazards, because their health is a top priority," said the North Rhine-Westphalian Environment Minister Johannes Remmel when presenting the epidemiological report Cancer Register NRW in Düsseldorf. However, the report also raises an open question, which the state government will now pursue vigorously. The NRW cancer registry has found an abnormality in thyroid cancer diseases. A statistically significantly increased rate of thyroid cancer in women was found here between 2008 and 2010.
The background to the report was the increasing number of inquiries from citizens in the region. The ministry has therefore reacted as a precaution to the concerns of the local people and commissioned an evaluation by the Epidemiological Cancer Register of North Rhine-Westphalia. The results of the statistical evaluation are now available. The decommissioned reactor in Hamm-Uentrop had recently come into focus because of the suspicion that radioactive PAC spheres had escaped from the reactor into the environment. However, this was not confirmed. According to the current state of the art, the globules found were spherical components of fertilizers containing converter lime. In addition, an incident occurred in 1986 within the THTR in which radioactivity was released. In order to clarify the discussion about suspected cancer accumulations, selected cancer diseases in the population from the years 2008 to 2010 were compared with those in a reference area in the current evaluation. More recent data are not yet available.
The main results of the analysis:
- For cancer of the esophagus, the intestine, the lungs and bronchi, the breast, the ovary and the myeloid and acute lymphatic leukemias, the study region Hamm and the surrounding communities of Ahlen, Beckum, Lippetal and Welver did not show any noticeable accumulations compared to the reference region Recklinghausen district .
- However, the NRW cancer registry has found an abnormality in thyroid cancer diseases. A statistically significantly increased rate of thyroid cancer in women was found here between 2008 and 2010. According to the results, the standardized incidence rate for thyroid cancer among women in the study region in 2008 and 2010 is 1.64. According to the cancer registry report, this can be interpreted as a 64% increased risk of developing thyroid cancer. This only applies in comparison to the selected reference region.
- However, the type of thyroid tumors observed is such that they were detected and reported at an early stage (small tumors). The cancer registry therefore describes regionally intensive activities for the early detection of thyroid cancer (intensive screening) as a possible cause of the observed increases in thyroid cancer rates.
- Radiation exposure as the cause, for example from the THTR Hamm, appears unlikely, however, since no abnormalities were found in thyroid cancer in men. If radiation was the cause, there should have been an accumulation of cancer here too. But this is not the case. In addition, no abnormalities were found in tumors of rapidly dividing cell aggregates (blood-forming system / leukemia), which are typically associated with radiation exposure. In addition, assuming radiation exposure in connection with an incident at the THTR in 1986, it would be expected that possible effects would become noticeable in the study period in an increased number of cases of illness in younger compared to older age groups. However, the age-specific analyzes do not confirm this suspicion. In addition, the evaluation of the cancer register of other regions in North Rhine-Westphalia that are not in the vicinity of a reactor also shows an increased incidence of thyroid cancer in women. According to the current state of knowledge, the results in the study region do not have a unique selling point.
Nevertheless, the statistical analysis marks an abnormality that the state government will have further investigated. We want to get as much clarity as possible and are therefore continuing to investigate ", said Minister Remmel," and have passed the question on to the Epidemiological Cancer Registry. " In addition, we also want to obtain assessments from relevant institutes at the federal level in order to include further expert opinions. The incidence of thyroid cancer has increased significantly in Germany and other countries in Europe in recent years. This trend is more pronounced in women than in men. This is borne out by figures presented by the Robert Koch Institute in its annual reports.
Cancer registries are facilities for collecting, storing and interpreting information on cancer and people affected by it. The Epidemiological Cancer Register of North Rhine-Westphalia is a non-profit company. The task of the gGmbH is to manage and maintain the epidemiological cancer register of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia.
Further information:
www.umwelt.nrw.de
Further information offers:
www.krebsregister.nrw.de
www.krebsdaten.de
The Hamm Citizens' Initiative will carefully work through this press release and the following report (PDF file) and comment on them as soon as possible.
A first, preliminary assessment of the BI a few hours after the publication of approx. 20 pages of press release and study by the NRW Ministry of the Environment:
We reject the statement by Environment Minister Remmel that in 1986 only “a very small amount of radioactive aerosols was released from the facility” as a trivialization of the incident in the THTR. The operators interrupted the recordings of the measuring strips at the time of the incident. Remmel's statement could just as easily come from RWE's PR department and cannot be proven. Rather, tens of thousands of Bequerels were measured by various measuring devices in the immediate vicinity of the THTR in the first days and weeks. See also:
http://www.reaktorpleite.de/nr-139-juni-2012.html
The investigation period of the Epidemiological Cancer Register is only three years from 2008 to 2010! The important 22 years before are left out of this investigation. But it is precisely this period that is of the greatest interest. For decades, the authorities and the responsible governments have deliberately failed to have statistics drawn up about this time. Obviously they didn't want to let a discussion about cancer cases near the THTR, which was annoying for them, arise in the first place.
It is all the more remarkable that 27 years after the incident it was found that 64% more thyroid cancer occurred in women in the Hamm area than in other comparable regions. The following current quote from ntv on the different effects of artificial radioactivity on women and men:
“Biostatisticians, radiation biologists and human geneticists have long been looking for an explanation of why artificial radiation has different effects on the sexes. This includes the "phenomenon of lost girls". To this end, researchers working with biomathematist Hagen Scherb from the Helmholtz Center in Munich determined an "impressive deficit of girls" within a 40-kilometer radius of the Gorleben interim storage facility. And since 1995, when the first Castor containers with radioactive waste rolled into the region. "
Aus: http://www.n-tv.de/politik/Mehr-Krebs-am-Atomreaktor-Hamm-Uentrop-article11810801.html
It would be important to extend the investigation period to the entire 27 years after the incident.
Horst Blume
*
Further to: Newspaper article 2013
***
Top |
***
Donation appeal- The THTR-Rundbrief is published by 'BI Umwelt Hamm e. V. ' - Postfach 1242 - 59002 Hamm and financed by donations. - The THTR circular has meanwhile become a much-noticed information medium. However, there are ongoing costs due to the expansion of the website and the printing of additional information sheets. - The THTR circular researches and reports in detail. In order for us to be able to do that, we depend on donations. We are happy about every donation! Donations account:BI Umweltschutz Hamm |
***
| Top |
***
