The state has the sixth highest number of hazardous waste sites in the US, and researchers from the University of Missouri-Columbia have discovered that more new cases of cancer are being reported in areas that are close to one of the 77 sites.
Overall, the rate was 6 per cent higher in counties where there was a superfund site, say the researchers, who reviewed all new cancer cases in the state between 1986 and 2010.
The researchers say there isn’t enough evidence to absolutely prove a direct cause-and-effect association, but they fear there is a link, and they are urging authorities to be aware of the potential risk when they are creating a new site.
(Source: Statistics and Public Policy, 2016; 4: 1; doi: 10.1080/2330443X.2016.1267599)
