REDUCED FERTILITY AFTER THE CRASH OF A US BOMBER CARRYING NUCLEAR-WEAPONS - A REGISTER-BASED STUDY ON MALE-FERTILITY

A register-based study was performed to elucidate whether workers empl oyed on the Thule air base in the clean-up period after the crash of a U.S. B-52 bomber carrying nuclear bombs had reduced fertility, as mea sured by the numbers of liveborn children. The highest birth rates wer e among 25-34-year olds with 1-3 years of employment on the base, but who had not worked at the base the year before, who already had one ch ild, with a 2-5-year interval since the birth of the last child. No di fference was seen between the group of men who had worked at the base during the clean-up period after the crash-the possibly exposed group- and those people who had worked at the base only outside the clean-up period. Because of the massive media coverage and possible claims for damages a register-based study is the only practicable way of elucidat ing statements about infertility. The main conclusion is that the acci dent has not reduced fertility.