20 November 2004 -- A new study says more than 800 people in northern Sweden may have cancer as a result of the fallout over the region from the Chornobyl nuclear accident in 1986.
That figure is far higher than previous estimates and has sparked controversy. Martin Tondel, a researcher at Linkoeping University who headed the study, said that of 22,400 cases of cancer examined, 849 could be statistically attributed to the accident at the Ukrainian reactor.
Some critics doubt the accuracy of the study. They say there was no increase in tumors associated with radiation exposure, such as leukemia or thyroid cancer.
But Tondel says researchers used every statistical model available to analyze their data and could only conlude that Chornobyl must be to blame.
(AP)
Some critics doubt the accuracy of the study. They say there was no increase in tumors associated with radiation exposure, such as leukemia or thyroid cancer.
But Tondel says researchers used every statistical model available to analyze their data and could only conlude that Chornobyl must be to blame.
(AP)