ML051330110

E-mail from Nancy Burton Do Heed This Message and Circulate Widely within the NRC

ML051330110
Person / Time
Site:	Millstone
Issue date:	03/11/2005
From:	Burton N Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone
To:	Kugler A NRC/NRR/DRIP/RLEP
References
Download: ML051330110 (3)

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Richard Emch - Do Heed This Message And Circulate WidelyWithin -theNRC Page 1 -1 Richard Emch Do Heed This Message And Circulate Widely Within the NRC Page iii From: <NancyBurtonEsq @ aol.com>

To: <ajkl @nrc.gov>

Date: Fri. Mar 11, 2005 8:33 AM

Subject:

Do Heed This Message And Circulate Widely Within the NRC Featured in Health Group Says Boy's Cancer Was Caused By Millstone Emissions Coalition Urging EL To Close Town Beaches Buy this Photo Tim Martin Dr. Helen Caldicott, right, a renowned pediatrician and authority on the health effects of low-level ionization radiation, speaks on a possible link between a rare jawbone cancer in Zachary M. Hartley, 7, of Canterbury. Mike Hartley, Zachary's father, is at left during a news conference at the Morton House. Zachary's photo is above him.

By JUDY BENSON Health/Science/Environment Reporter Published on 3/11/2005 East Lyme - An organization seeking the shutdown of the Millstone Nuclear Power Station is urging closure of town-owned beaches on Niantic Bay and is linking a 7-year-old boy's rare facial tumor to radiation and carcinogenic chemical emissions from the plant, located about 1.5 miles across the bay in Waterford.

The boy's mother, Tanya Hartley, is a former East Lyme resident and swam regularly at the town's Hole-in-the-Wall beach during her pregnancy, according to her husband, Michael, who took part in a news conference called by the Connecticut Coalition Against Millstone on Thursday. The family currently lives in Canterbury. The news conference was held in the lobby of the Morton House apartment building on Main Street, across the street from the bay.

First Selectman Wayne Fraser said he had no response to the group's request and that he had not previously been informed about the boy's tumor, which required extensive surgery to remove it. Michael Hartley said part of the tumor was cancerous and part was benign, and that his son will undergo facial reconstruction surgery this summer in Boston.

Fraser said he would seriously consider any health concerns raised by the state Department of Public Health or other officials, but none have been raised in conjunction with Millstone. The town has no plans to close its beaches or post safety warnings, as the coalition requested in a March 9 letter.

"We react to proper methods and officials," he said. "East Lyme strongly supports a safe Millstone for families and a safe working environment for employees."

The news conference included remarks by Dr. Helen Caldicott, a pediatrician, author and nuclear disarmament activist who is also against nuclear power and the health risks she believes it carries for those who live near plants.

Caldicott came at the invitation of Nancy Burton of Redding Ridge, coalition

Page 211 l Richard Emch - Do Heed This Message And

- Widqty Within Circulate Widely And Circulate the NRC Within the NRC Page 2 11 leader.

Caldicott said that from her review of the boy's medical records, she believes there is a strong possibility his tumor was caused by his mother's exposure to the plant emissions in the air and water. The plant releases chemicals that are "very carcinogenic," she said.

"I wouldn't want to live here," she said. 'These plants must be shut down for the health of the people in this area."

Peter Hyde, spokesman for Millstone, said the plant is closely monitored by the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is within acceptable limits for radiation and other emissions.

"We empathize with the mother and her child, but to make the leap between Millstone operations and this poor child's illness is not supportable," he said.

The NRC has not been contacted with safety concerns about Millstone related to the boy's illness, according to NRC Spokesman Neil Sheehan. Members of the public can petition the NRC about safety issues, he said, but that has not been done in this case.

Concerns about cancer rates around the plant were raised during recent public hearings about plant re-licensing, he said, and results of several studies were reviewed as part of that process, he said. The NRC concluded there is no evidence linking cancer rates to the plant.

"It's certainly difficult to make some cause-and-effect relationship between swimming and cancer," Sheehan said.

© The Day Publishing Co., 2005 For home delivery, please call 1-800-542-3354 Ext. 4700 CC: <rle~nrc.gov>, <secy~nrc.gov>, <fxe~nrc.gov>

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Do Heed This Message And Circulate Widely Within the NRC Creation Date: Fri, Mar 11, 2005 8:33 AM From: <NancyBlurtonEsq@aol.com>

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