California: Rancho Seco Nuclear Plant Shutdown Results in 4,319 Fewer Cancer Cases

“….Previous studies on the rates of cancer near eight closed nuclear reactors showed a 25 percent decrease in childhood cancers, while the national rate rose 0.5 percent 10 years after the plants closed. …….”   

Report source:http://www.bmijournal.org/index.php/bmi/article/viewFile/115/82 

Closing a nuclear reactor in California has prevented an estimated 4,319 cases of cancer in the past 20 years, according to a new study released Thursday. Researchers studied the population of the state capitol of Sacramento, an area with more than 1.4 million people living within 25 miles of the Rancho Seco nuclear power plant.

Using 20 years worth of data, researchers found an overall drop in the incidence of all cancers, including six of the 16 most common types. The sharpest drop came within a decade of the plant’s closing in 1989.