Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41730864›Full record

ArticleNature communications2026

National analysis of cancer mortality and proximity to nuclear power plants in the United States.

Yazan Alwadi, Barrak Alahmad, Carolina L Zilli Vieira, Philip J Landrigan, David C Christiani, Eric Garshick, Marco Kaltofen, Brent Coull, Joel Schwartz, John S Evans and 1 more

Erratum issuedAbstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Nature communications, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. An erratum has been issued. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

11 authors.

Yazan AlwadiEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA. yazan_alwadi@fas.harvard.edu.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0003-0804-7180
Barrak AlahmadEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9523-9537
Carolina L Zilli VieiraEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8763-3331
Philip J LandriganBoston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA.
David C ChristianiEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0301-0242
Eric GarshickHarvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Marco KaltofenBoston Chemical Data Corp, Natick, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-6695-825X
Brent CoullEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.
Joel SchwartzEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6168-378X
John S EvansEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9837-1026
Petros KoutrakisEnvironmental Health Department, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, USA.

Funding

Translational Research Support CoreP30ES000002 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY (SCH OF PUBLIC HLTH) · PI JAIME ELIZABETH HART · 1985 to 2026
$44.6M
The Boston Lung Cancer Survival CohortU01CA209414 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI David C Christiani · 2017 to 2026
$12.2M
Statistical Methods for Analysis of Massive Genetic and Genomic Data in Cancer ResearchR35CA197449 · NCI · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI XIHONG LIN · 2015 to 2026
$10.9M
Ambient Particle Radioactivity and Lung Cancer SurvivalR21ES037885 · NIEHS · HARVARD UNIVERSITY D/B/A HARVARD SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH · PI CHRISTIANI, DAVID C · 2025 to 2025
$433k
NCI NIH HHS R35 CA197449NCI NIH HHS U01 CA209414NIEHS NIH HHS P30 ES000002NIEHS NIH HHS R21 ES037885
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Understanding the potential health implications of living near nuclear power plants is important given the renewed interest in nuclear energy as a low-carbon power source. Here we show that U.S. counties located closer to operational nuclear power plants have higher cancer mortality rates than those farther away. Using nationwide mortality data from 2000-2018, we assess long-term spatial patterns of cancer mortality in relation to proximity to nuclear facilities while accounting for socioeconomic, demographic, behavioral, environmental, and healthcare factors. Cancer mortality is higher across multiple age groups in both males and females, with the strongest associations among older adults, males aged 65-74 and females aged 55-64. While our findings cannot establish causality, they highlight the need for further research into potential exposure pathways, latency effects, and cancer-specific risks, emphasizing the importance of addressing these potentially substantial but overlooked risks to public health.

Indexed as

Environmental ExposureNeoplasmsNuclear Power PlantsAgedFemaleHumansMaleMiddle AgedUnited States

Identifiers

PMID41730864
PMCPMC12929679

What OpenQuestion holds

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LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.