Spontaneous abortions after the Three Mile Island nuclear accident: a life table analysis

Journal Article · Fri Jul 01 00:00:00 EDT 1983 · Am. J. Public Health; (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.73.7.752· OSTI ID:5064260

Goldhaber, M K; Staub, S L; Tokuhata, G K

A study was conducted to determine whether the incidence of spontaneous abortion was greater than expected near the Three Mile Island (TMI) nuclear power plant during the months following the March 28, 1979 accident. All persons living within five miles of TMI were registered shortly after the accident, and information on pregnancy at the time of the accident was collected. After one year, all pregnancy cases were followed up and outcomes ascertained. Using the life table method, it was found that, given pregnancies after four completed weeks of gestation counting from the first day of the last menstrual period, the estimated incidence of spontaneous abortion (miscarriage before completion of 16 weeks of gestation) was 15.1 per cent for women pregnant at the time of the TMI accident. Combining spontaneous abortions and stillbirths (delivery of a dead fetus after 16 weeks of gestation), the estimated incidence was 16.1 per cent for pregnancies after four completed weeks of gestation. Both incidences are comparable to baseline studies of fetal loss.

• Research Organization: Pennsylvania Dept. of Health, Harrisburg
• OSTI ID: 5064260
• Journal Information: Am. J. Public Health; (United States), Vol. 73:7
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS
ABORTION
EPIDEMIOLOGY
REACTOR ACCIDENTS
HEALTH HAZARDS
BIOLOGICAL STRESS
DOSE-RESPONSE RELATIONSHIPS
PREGNANCY
THREE MILE ISLAND-1 REACTOR
ACCIDENTS
ENRICHED URANIUM REACTORS
HAZARDS
POWER REACTORS
PWR TYPE REACTORS
REACTORS
THERMAL REACTORS
WATER COOLED REACTORS
WATER MODERATED REACTORS
220900* - Nuclear Reactor Technology- Reactor Safety