National cancer panel holds first public meeting

The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel assessing cancer risks around NRC-licensed facilities held its first public meeting in Washington, DC on Thursday, February 24. A webcast archive is available.

During their presentation, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission remarked that people mistrust NRC’s contention that radiation doses from its facilities are too low to cause disease.  NRC says people are mistrustful because they know nuclear reactors produce radiation and are also responding to anecdotal or informal citizen surveys showing increased disease. Because of this mistrust, NRC says it wants a study that would help them communicate and answer these questions and concerns from the public.

The Nuclear Regulatory Commission is asking NAS to use pollution release data that is generated by industry and used to assess exposure to the public. Further, NRC says they do not expect this report to result in any change to regulation or official policy. NRC will continue giving presentations at future NAS meetings. 

In insisting that NAS consider using industry-derived and reported data, NRC is repeating one of the main stumbling blocks that has plagued past cancer studies. From this industry-derived, therefore conflicted, data, doses are calculated that are too low to cause any discernible health effect according to industry and NRC. At the same time, NRC contends that:  “Our entire regulatory process is based on licensees providing us complete and accurate information.”  

At an NAS meeting in April, 2010, the industry, through its trade organization, Nuclear Energy Institute (NEI) declared: “These types of studies simply cannot even imply causality, and I would be disappointed if this study undertook to believe that it was a study of causality.”

No details for future meetings have been announced yet but NAS is accepting comments throughout this process.