Thyroid Cancer Incidence around the Belgian Nuclear Sites, 2000-2014.

The present study investigates whether there is an excess incidence of thyroid cancer among people living in the vicinity of the nuclear sites in Belgium. Adjusted Rate Ratios were obtained from Poisson regressions for proximity areas of varying sizes. In addition, focused hypothesis tests and generalized additive models were performed to test the hypothesis of a gradient in thyroid cancer incidence with increasing levels of surrogate exposures.

Childhood leukaemia near nuclear sites in Belgium, 2002-2008.

This paper describes an ecological study investigating whether there is an excess incidence of acute leukaemia among children aged 0-14 years living in the vicinity of the nuclear sites in Belgium. Poisson regression modelling was carried out for proximity areas of varying sizes. In addition, the hypothesis of a gradient in leukaemia incidence with increasing levels of surrogate exposures was explored by means of focused hypothesis tests and generalized additive models.

Thyroid cancer incidence around the Belgian nuclear sites: surrogate exposure modelling.

Background: In a recent ecological study among residents living around Belgian nuclear sites (the NUCABEL study), significant increased incidences of thyroid cancer were observed around the two nuclear facilities with industrial and research activities (Mol-Dessel and Fleurus), prompting further research.

Methods: The data from the NUCABEL study were reanalysed to test the hypothesis of a gradient in cancer incidence with increasing levels of exposure from these sites using three measures of surrogate exposure, being (i) residential proximity, (ii) prevailing wind directions and (iii) simulated dispersion of radioactive discharges. Single-site focussed hypothesis tests were complemented with Generalized Additive Models to estimate the exposure-response relationships.

The influence on the radioxenon background during the temporary suspension of operations of three major medical isotope production facilities in the Northern Hemisphere and during the start-up of another facility in the Southern Hemisphere.

Medical isotope production facilities (MIPF) have recently been identified to emit the major part of the environmental radioxenon measured at many globally distributed monitoring sites deployed to strengthen the radionuclide component of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) verification regime. Efforts to raise a global radioxenon emission inventory revealed that the yearly global total emission from MIPF's is around 15 times higher than the total radioxenon emission from nuclear power plants (NPP's). Given that situation, from mid 2008 until early 2009 two out of the ordinary hemisphere-specific events occured: 1) In the Northern hemisphere, a joint temporary suspension of operations of the three largest MIPF's made it possible to quantify the effects of the emissions related to NPP's.