A study of vital rates near a nuclear reactor.
Radiation exposure from the Big Rock Point nuclear reactor in Charlevoix County, Michigan was investigated by studying vital rates for that county and nearby counties in comparison with other matching counties, for periods before and after the reactor began operation. None of the variables studied showed any unusual change in pattern for Charlevoix county after the rector's operation was initiated, but the trend in low-weight births was higher in Charlevoix county than in adjacent counties, whose trends were in turn higher than for the matching counties. However, no other important significant differences were found among those tested statistically, therefore, an examination of these vital rates did not substantiate an association between the proximity of the reactor and the occurrence of pathology. Nevertheless, further study should be conducted to explain the pattern of low-weight births.
D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008824:Michigan; D009026:Mortality; D009381:Neoplasms, Radiation-Induced / Q000453:epidemiology; D009688:Nuclear Reactors; D011830:Radiation Effects; D014798:Vital Statistics