Thyroid Risk at A-Plant Seen as No Greater

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http://www.nytimes.com/2002/06/23/health/23NUKE.html

Thyroid Risk at A-Plant Seen as No Greater

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

RICHLAND, Wash., June 21 (AP) — People exposed decades ago to radioactive iodine released from the Hanford nuclear reservation appear no more likely to suffer from thyroid diseases than people elsewhere, a federal study has found.

The 13-year study, released on Friday, looked at 3,440 people born in seven eastern Washington counties downwind of Hanford who were children when iodine-131 was released in the 1940's and 50's. Nineteen had thyroid cancer, which is consistent with the rates of the disease elsewhere in the United States.

"We did not find an increased risk of thyroid disease in study participants," said Paul Garbe, an epidemiologist who advised the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the study. "If there is an increased risk, it is probably too small to detect."

The study, conducted by the disease control centers and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle, was ordered by Congress in 1988. Two years earlier, the Department of Energy made public a number of secret documents that showed large amounts of radioactive iodine had been released into the atmosphere from Hanford.

Thyroid diseases, including cancerous tumors, were of particular concern because iodine concentrates in the thyroid gland, at the base of the neck.

A presentation on the report was attended by about 100 people, including some of the plaintiffs — called "downwinders" — in a lawsuit over health effects of radioactive releases from the site.

"When you cut to the chase, the downwinders have no case. Period," said Gerry Woodcock, a member of the American Nuclear Society and a 28-year employee at Hanford.

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