Cancer Incidence in a Population Living Near Radioactive Waste Storage of Uranium Mining in Stepnogorsk Area,...

This study evaluates the impact of radioactive uranium waste storage facilities on cancer occurrence in nearby areas.

Current research evaluates the effect of radioactive uranium waste storage facilities on cancer epidemiology in nearby areas. The critical area had Aqsu, Kvartsitka, Zavodskoy and Stepnogorsk cities, which are located at a less than 5 km distance to the south of the Hydrometallurgical Plant tailings dump while the control group had Akkol region in 90 km from the source. The majority of population had lived in this territory more than the 30 years. Data were obtained from the Electronic Register of Cancer Patients of the Republic of Kazakhstan from 2001-2015, and 2,271 incident cases of cancer were registered.

The most frequent malignancies were observed in the digestive organs (646 cases, 28%) and respiratory and intrathoracic organs (376 cases, 17%). The proportion of digestive organ cancers was higher in the critical group (560 cases out of 1913, 29%) than in the control group (86 cases out of 358, 24%). Additionally, respiratory organ cancers were more common in men, but the cancer incidence rate ratio was higher in the critical area. Notably, the study found that the cancer incidence rate ratios decreased over time, specifically for digestive, respiratory and female genital organs and breast cancer.

In conclusion, while our study highlights significant differences in cancer incidence rates and frequencies between the critical and control groups, further analytical research, incorporating age-adjustment, is needed to provide a more conclusive evaluation of the potential impact of residence in proximity to the uranium mining waste storage on cancer occurrence in the study area.