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From Debrief two days ago:

A new study published in Risk Analysis found that residents living within five miles of the former Santa Susana Field Laboratory reported autoimmune disorders at more than four times the rate of those living 11 to 15 miles away.

Located in the Simi Hills northwest of Los Angeles, the Santa Susana Field Laboratory hosted rocket engine testing from 1949 to 2006 and nuclear reactor operations from 1953 to 1980. In 1959, a partial meltdown occurred at the site, which later became associated with radioactive and chemical contamination in soil and groundwater both on and beyond the property. Some have described the accident as the worst nuclear accident in U.S. history.

Researchers from the University of Southern California led the study, shifting focus beyond the cancer statistics that have dominated discussion of the site for years. Instead, they examined health conditions and protective behavior among residents of a higher-income community living near a contaminated site, rather than the lower-income communities typically studied in environmental risk research.

Previous health studies did not find a significant increase in most cancers among those who lived near the site. A 1992 California Department of Health Services report also concluded that people living near SSFL were not at increased risk of developing cancers associated with radiation exposure. However, many residents and advocacy groups still believe that contamination from the Santa Susana Field Laboratory may be negatively impacting community health.

The study found that 18% of residents living within five miles of the Santa Susana Field Laboratory reported autoimmune disorders, as compared to 4% of those living between 11 and 15 miles from it. Similarly, 15% of residents living within five miles reported metabolic and endocrine disorders, compared with 2% of those living 11 to 15 miles away.

Full text at: https://thedebrief.org/residents-near-former-california-nuclear-site-report-more-chronic-illness-new-study-finds/

The closest UK counterpart for the nuclear-reactor-research side is Dounreay (Caithness, far north Scotland) — chosen for remoteness, like SSFL. It was the UK’s centre for fast-breeder reactor development, with a Materials Test Reactor plus two prototype fast reactors. Immediately next door is the Vulcan Naval Reactor Test Establishment, which ran full-scale prototype submarine reactors (PWR1 and PWR2 cores) for decades. Both sites are now in long-term decommissioning. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dounreay

Researchers based at Oxford University, reporting conveniently for some political forces, in July 2014, revisited earlier studies of the incidence of leukaemia around Sellafield and Dounreay and concluded that children, teenagers and young adults currently living close to Sellafield and Dounreay were not at an increased risk of developing cancers.

The researchers, dependent upon UK Government grants for their survival, notably downplayed two earlier studies finding a raised risk of leukaemia among 0–14 and 15-24 year-olds, living within 12.5 km of Dounreay during the period 1979–1984[i] and in a subsequent study in 1996, reported an excess of childhood leukaemia and Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL) within 25 km of Dounreay for the period 1968–1993.[ii]

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[i] Heasman MA, Kemp IW, Urquhart JD, Black R. Childhood leukaemia in northern Scotland. Lancet. 1986;327 (8475:266.

[ii] Sharp L, Black RJ, Harkness EF, McKinney PA. Incidence of childhood leukaemia and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the vicinity of nuclear sites in Scotland, 1968–93. Occup Environ Med. 1996;53 (12:823–831.

There has been, to my knowledge, no study of auto-immune disorders in the area around Dounreay.

If comparable levels to those in the California study were to be detected what would that look like?

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Or by direct bank transfer to: JOHN WATSON ROBERTSON Sort Code – 08-91-04 Account – 12266421