Nuclear Test Rules out Radiation

(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A recent study from the University of Adelaide in South Australia reveals cancer rates among Australian men involved in the 1950s British nuclear tests are 23-percent higher than those of the general population. Despite the increase in cancer rates, research has found no link to radiation exposure. Data from this study did suggest probable asbestos-related cancer in navy personnel.

The three-year study investigated the health effects of 11,000 men, all of whom took part in the British nuclear tests in Australia from 1952 to 1963. Twenty-six men had cases of mesothelioma, a cancer strongly associated with asbestos. Of the 26, 16 were involved in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) -- nearly three times the amount researchers expected. Researchers also discovered higher than average rates of lung cancer, which is also asbestos related, in RAN personnel.

This data strongly supports a problem of asbestos exposure in RAN vessels, mentioning the exposure did not necessarily occur during the nuclear tests.

Dr. Richie Gun from the University of Adelaide explains, "The cancer excess is very similar to the excess found in a similar study of Korean War Veterans, who served in the armed forces at about the same period as the nuclear test participants, but where radiation was not an issue. This tends to confirm the study finding that the excess of cancers is unrelated to radiation exposure at the test sites."

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SOURCE: Mortality and Cancer Incidence in Australian Participants in the British Nuclear Tests in Australia, 2006