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HEALTH IMPACT OF THE THREE MILE ISLAND ACCIDENT
Author(s) -
Upton Arthur C.
Publication year - 1981
Publication title -
annals of the new york academy of sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.712
H-Index - 248
eISSN - 1749-6632
pISSN - 0077-8923
DOI - 10.1111/j.1749-6632.1981.tb18117.x
Subject(s) - mile , population , demography , environmental health , medicine , accident (philosophy) , geography , philosophy , geodesy , epistemology , sociology
Summary The only health impact of the Three Mile Island accident that can be identified with certainty is mental stress to those living in the vicinity of the plant, particularly pregnant women and families with teenagers and preschool children. Although increased risks of cancer, birth defects, and genetic abnormalities are potential long‐term consequences of low‐level irradiation, few if any such effects of the accident are likely, because the collective dose of radiation received by the population within a 50‐mile radius of the plant was so small. Estimates of the number of people in the population who may ultimately experience any such effects range from 0.4 to 10, in comparison with hundreds of thousands in the same population who can be expected to develop cancer, birth defects, or genetic abnormalities through natural causes.