Ms. Kahn’s class is discussing the connection between nuclear power plants and cancer.

“Cancer is a terrible disease,” says Erin. “Many people suffer from cancer as a result of nuclear power plants contaminating their surroundings. That’s why I don’t think we should use nuclear energy.”

"But think about the climate change problems caused by other sources of energy," says Kristopher. "If there is a way that we can safely derive green energy from nuclear power, that is an important advantage we should consider."

“Besides,” suggests Lucinda, “cancer is a very complicated disease with many different causes. How sure are we that exposure to nuclear power plants really causes cancer?”

“That’s a good question, Lucinda,” says Ms. Kahn. “Let’s take a look at the cancer rates around Chernobyl after the nuclear power plant accident there in 1986.”

Ms. Kahn searched the internet and found the following information about some of the effects of the Chernobyl meltdown.

Thyroid Cancer Study Following the Chernobyl Accident in Ukraine:

The thyroid gland uses iodine to make important hormones that regulate the rest of your body. However, when nuclear power plants melt down or just leak a little bit, they release a radioactive version of iodine into the environment that can get into the water and food supplies of the local community. When people consume these contaminated foods, their thyroids collect the radioactive iodine instead of regular iodine. This can cause thyroid cancer to develop, especially in children and adolescents.

After the Chernobyl meltdown in 1986, researchers began tracking over 13,000 children and adolescents who were exposed to high doses of radioactive iodine. They monitored the health of these young people over the next 25 years and found more than three times as many cases of thyroid cancer, compared to a typical group of people. The graph below shows the relationship between exposure to radioactive iodine and increased risk of developing thyroid cancer. The dotted line represents the normal risk of increased exposure. The squares represent data from children exposed at Chernobyl.

From these data, can you conclude that being exposed to radioactive iodine causes thyroid cancer in children and adolescents? Why or why not?

Discussion Question:

This study provides information on the effects of the Chernobyl meltdown, but doesn’t provide information on whether working nuclear plants contaminate the area. How does this study affect your view of the danger of nuclear power plants? Do you think this study is relevant to decisions about how we generate electricity? Explain.