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WHITBY FREE PRESS, WEDNESDAY, JULY 7, 1982, PAGE 5 LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Reactors killing infantsDurham Dear Sir: The atomic In- dustry, and govern- ments are . lying through their teeth! An examination of the monthly chang- es in infant mortali- ty in Pennsylvania and the ' nearby areas of upstate New York as given in the U.S. Monthly Vital Statistics re- ports indicates that the mortality rate rose significantly shortly after the Three Mile Island accident in the dir- ections where the plume -of radio- active gases was known to have moved. The number of re- ported infant deaths per month rose from a mini- mum of 141 in Mar- ch of 1979 just be- fore the accident, to a peak of 271 in July, déclining a- gain to 119 by Aug- ust. This is an un- precedented and highly significant rise of 92 per cent in the summer months when infant morta- lity normally reach- es its lowest values. In the four-month period following the accident, thère were" 242 infant deaths above the normally expected number in Pennsyl- vania and a total of about 430 in the en- tire Northeastern area of the U.S. Secondly, infant mortality peaked three to four mon- ths after initial re- leases took place. This corresponds to the period required for infants to be born whose thyroid glands were most active in taking up the radioactive io- dine while produc- ing growth hor- mories when *the accident occured, thus explaining the large rise in a num- ber of immature and underweight in- far\ts that died 0f respiratory distress as indicated by an examination of the hospital records. Thirdly, the great- est rises took place in areas closest to the plant, decreas- ing with distance away from Harris- burg and the state of Pennsylvania, until, for states.well to the west and south, there was a decline in infant. mortality rates. Thus, - while Pen- nsylvania increased from 10.4 deaths per thousand live births in March to 18.5 in July of 1979. The U.S. rate as a whole declined from 14.1 ta 12.5. The rise moved Pennsylvania from well below the U.S. average to the high- est infant mortality rate for any state east of the Mississ- ippi river. Hospitals in Ont- ario and Quebec where the plume of radioactive gases was known to have moved, reported a 40 per cent higher rate than normal for still births. The medical associa- tions recommen- ded that all children in those areas have a medical examina- tion of their thyroid glands. The'Royal Commission on Electric Power Planning con- clusions were that radioactive pollu- tion was not a major concern. In the ab- sence of a serious accident, the public's worst fear from the operation of Candu reactors is exposure to rou- tine radioactive .emissionswhich are usually quite low. Even when serious spills oc- cur, such as the 28,000 curies of tri- tium that leaked in- to the water system near Pickering in February in,. 1979, the committee found littie cause for concern. After all "the irradiated water was well diluted by the time it reached the muni- cipal water supply". In the report, no mention is made of the fact that the Pickering - Town Council was not in- formed of the spill in question until three months after the fact. Dr. Edward Rad- ford, chairman of the prestigious B.E.I.R. Committee of the U.S. National Academy of Scien- ce stated that tri- tuim appears to be considerably more hazardous than pre- viously thought, and that sharp "pulses of trituim ftay be particularly harmful to the de- velopment fetus, if a pregnant woman drinks the trituim contaminated water at a critical stage in fetal development. The federal de- partment of the en- vironment express- es concern that tri- tuim levels in the Great Lakes are in- creasing measur- ably and may be- come a major health problem by the turn of the cen- tury. In conclusion the Durham Region Co- alition for nuclear responsibility de- mands a moratorium on fur- ther expansion of the nuclear industry in Canada. We also demand a plebis- cite on the next municipal election. Let the people de- cide whether or not they want Ontario Hydro's plans to ex- pand in nuclear re- actors. To turn Ont- ario into a large power house to sell power to the U.S., leaving us with the burden of cost for constructior plus the waste 'disposai and other health ef- fects. Any person, gr tit thý fo ha tic R 65 O group roup or organiza- Ion wishing to join ie coalition, or In- rmation write Dur- am Region Coali- on 'for Nuclear esponsibility at 57 Stone Street,- shawa, Ontario caims L1J1A4. R.J. 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