Living in Closer Proximity to Nuclear Power Plants May Increase Cancer Mortality Risk

WEDNESDAY, Feb. 25, 2026 (HealthDay News) — Counties located closer to operational nuclear power plants have higher cancer mortality rates, according to a study published online Feb. 23 in Nature Communications.

Yazan Alwadi, from Harvard University in Boston, and colleagues examined potential health implications of living near nuclear power plants (at the county level) using nationwide mortality data from 2000 to 2018, as well as long-term spatial patterns of cancer mortality in relation to proximity to nuclear facilities based on U.S. Energy Information Administration location data. 

The researchers found that when accounting for socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, environmental, and health care factors, cancer mortality was higher across multiple age groups in both men and women. The strongest associations were seen among older adults, men aged 65 to 74 years, and women aged 55 to 64 years. Among older adults (age 65 years and older), cancer mortality associated with proximity to nuclear power plants averaged 4,266 deaths per year from 2000 to 2018.

“Our study suggests that living near a [nuclear power plant] may carry a measurable cancer risk — one that lessens with distance,” senior author Petros Koutrakis, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, said in a statement. “We recommend that more studies be done that address the issue of [nuclear power plants] and health impacts, particularly at a time when nuclear power is being promoted as a clean solution to climate change.”

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