India

Indian researchers K.S.V. Nambi and S.D. Soman collected an analyzed cancer mortality data from a number of state hospitals along with the average background radiation in each locality. (Hospitals in Delhi, Kerala, Maharashtra, Pondi and Tamil Nadu were excluded as they are regional centers that take patients from several states.) A plot of these data, shown in Figure 23, show an unmistakable negative correlation between background radiation and overall cancer mortality. In an extended study, the investigators found a significant inverse relationship (the more radiation, the less cancer) between background radiation and all types of female cancers except those of the mouth and cervix. [Nambi, K.S.V., and Soman, S.D. Further observations on environmental radiation and cancer in India. Submitted to Health Physics, 1990.]

Source for Figure 23 Cancer Mortality vs. Background Radiation (India) Nambi, K.S.V. and Soman, S.D. Environmental radiation and cancer in India. Health Physics, 52, 653, 1987.