Medical Officer Called As Witness At Sizewell B Inquiry With Regard To The Leukaemia Cases In Area Known As Leiston Triangle

Interviews with Graham Searle of Stop Sizewell B Association and Dr Michael Bush about the possibility of a link between leukaemia cases and Sizewell power station.

Over scenes of Sizewell A power station, reporter Greg Barnes says there have been 13 cases of leukaemia in Leiston in the last 16 years, 4 involving power station workers. 8 cases have been clustered in the so-called ‘Leiston triangle’. Cases elsewhere have occurred around nuclear power stations but also at a distance from them. Standing next to a model of the power station, Graham Searle of Stop Sizewell B Association is interviewed on his views about the report by Dr Michael Bush. He expresses concern about the cases amongst the workforce and advocates a prudent response to the possibility of radiation beyond the normal background level. View of the pub sign and anchor outside the Vulcan Arms public house. Dr Michael Bush, District Medical Officer for the East Suffolk Health Authority, states his view that the amount of additional radiation from the power station is minute and usually less than the background level of radiation. He is doubtful that a connection can be proved between local cases of leukaemia and Sizewell A, and he does not see medical grounds for concern about Sizewell A or B. The reporter mentions the idea of alternative causes for illness including a contagious virus. This short video was made to be shown in a news story on Anglia Television early evening news / magazine programme About Anglia.

Keywords

Nuclear power stations; Leukaemia; Radiation; Sizewell power station; Diseases; Public health; Health; Sizewell B Inquiry

Additional Description

Timothy O'Riordan, Ray Kemp and Michael, Purdue, Sizewell B: An Anatomy of the Inquiry, 1988