Nationwide Patterns Link Proximity to Nuclear Plants with Higher Cancer Mortality in the U.S.

A nationwide ecological study (2000–2018) finds that U.S. counties closer to operational nuclear power plants have higher cancer mortality, with strongest effects among older adults. Using a continuous inverse-distance proximity metric within 200 km and generalized estimating equation Poisson models that adjust for covariates, researchers estimate cancer deaths attributable to plant proximity and highlight the need for further exposure–response research, while acknowledging limitations in causal inference and the ecological study design.