THE MEASUREMENT OF RADIOACTIVITY IN PEOPLE LIVING NEAR THE DOUNREAY-NUCLEAR-ESTABLISHMENT, CAITHNESS, SCOTLAND

In 1986, a statistically significant excess of leukaemia was reported in young people living near the Dounreay Nuclear Establishment in nort hern Scotland. The Committee on Medical Aspects of Radiation in the En vironment (COMARE) confirmed this finding and concluded that, based on conventional dose and risk estimates, the radioactive discharges from the plant could not be held responsible. However, COMARE, recognizing the uncertainties involved in the dose and risk calculations, recomme nded that levels of radioactivity should be measured in the general po pulation living near the plant. Alpha-emitting contamination has been measured by urinary Pu-239 analysis and Am-241 in-vivo skull measureme nts in 66 subjects associated with the Dounreay area and in 42 subject s living remote from reprocessing plants. Whole-body counting was empl oyed to check for gamma ray-emitting contamination. Urinary Sr-90 and chromosome abnormality analyses were also carried out on subsets of th e study group. No significant inter-group differences for measurements of contamination were demonstrated for groups of leukaemia cases, sib lings, parents, matched local controls and controls living remote from reprocessing plants. The findings suggest that it is unlikely that th e observed increased incidence in leukaemia is due to the single facto r of personal radioactive contamination from the Dounreay Nuclear Esta blishment.