HC Deb 15 April 1986 vol 95 c371W
Mr. Teddy Taylor

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services which areas of the United Kingdom have the highest incidence of those forms of cancer which have been correlated with atomic radiation; and whether any of these areas are in the immediate vicinity of nuclear power installations.

Mr. Whitney

[pursuant to his reply, 5 March 1986, c. 149]: The numbers of deaths in 1984 from 14 specific forms of cancer have been abstracted for each of 33 London boroughs, 36 Metropolitan districts and 297 county districts in England, for 37 county districts in Wales, for 53 local government districts in Scotland and for Northern Ireland as a whole, making 457 areas in all.

Myeloid leukaemia is the form of maligancy which is most closely associated with exposure to atomic radiation. The following table shows the 20 areas which had the greatest relative excess number of deaths from myeloid leukaemia in 1984. The excess has been identified by calculating the numbers of deaths which would have been expected in each area, allowing for the size of its population and its age and sex distribution, if the death rates in that area had been the same as the national (United

Ranking of Local Authority Areas (Highest Twenty) for Myeloid Leukaemia, United Kingdom, 1984
Area Observed Deaths Population *Crude Rate Expected Deaths Ratio of Observed to Expected
1 Ynys Mon (Anglesey) CD† 9 68,700 13.10 2.7 3.38
2 Hereford CD 5 47,900 10.44 1.9 2.65
3 Harlow CD 6 76,800 7.81 2.3 2.57
4 Erewash CD 10 104,200 9.60 4.0 2.53
5 Hart CD 6 79,000 7.59 2.4 2.52
6 Brighton CD 17 145,600 11.68 6.9 2.48
7 Bolsover CD 7 70,900 9.87 2.9 2.45
8 Dover CD 11 103,200 10.66 4.5 2.44
9 S. Norfolk CD 10 98,300 10.17 4.3 2.34
10 Braintree CD 10 114,700 8.72 4.3 2.33
11 Burnley CD 8 90,600 8.83 3.5 2.30
12 Northavon CD‡ 9 123,100 7.31 3.9 2.29
13 Tamworth CD 4 66,800 5.99 1.8 2.28
14 Canterbury CD 13 126,600 10.27 5.8 2.25
15 S. Northamptonshire CD 5 66,200 7.55 2.3 2.22
16 Broadland CD 9 99,400 9.05 4.1 2.19
17 Worcester CD 6 76,200 7.87 2.8 2.12
18 Crawley CD 6 83,600 7.18 2.8 2.11
19 Sedgemoor CD 8 91,600 8.73 3.8 2.09
20 Rushmoor CD 5 80,600 6.20 2.4 2.08
* Crude Rate per 100,000 population CD=County District
† Nuclear Installation present within Authority Wylfa power station
‡ Nuclear Installation present within Authority Oldbury power station

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