Oyster Creek Included in Pilot Study of Cancer Risks

The Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station will be part of a pilot study designed to gauge cancer risks around nuclear power plants.

Oyster Creek is one of six plants to be studied by the National Academy of Sciences, in concert with the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission, according to Neil Sheehan, a public affairs officer at the NRC. The results of the study will help determine if the review should be extended to the remaining U.S. nuclear sites.

The effort will involve two studies — an examination of cancer types near facilities and a case-control study of cancers in children born near the facilities, Sheehan said. The effort is expected to start within the next three months, will likely last into 2014 and will cost $2 million.

The overall goal is to provide a modern version of the 1990 U.S. National Institutes of Health - National Cancer Institute report, "Cancer in Populations Living Near Nuclear Facilities."

In addition to Oyster Creek, the study also will focus on the Dresden Nuclear Power Station in Morris, Ill.; the Millstone Power Station in Waterford, Conn.; the decommissioned Haddam Neck plant in Haddam Neck, Conn.; the decommissioned Big Rock Nuclear Power Plant in Charlevoix, Mich; and the San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station in San Clemente, Calif.