Japanese atomic bomb survivors still more likely to get leukemia

HIROSHIMA, Japan, Aug. 23 (UPI) -- The incidence of leukemia among survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is still 2.5 times above average, a study has found.

The study was conducted by the Radiation Effects Research Foundation, The Mainichi Shimbun reported Friday.

An analysis based on surveys conducted over 55 years found 312 cases of leukemia, of which 94 were believed linked to radiation exposure from the 1945 blasts.

A person 10 years old at the time of the bombings had been 51.3 times more likely to develop the disease within five years, 3.5 times after 40 years and 2.5 times after 55 years, the survey indicated.

Anyone 30 or older at the time of the bombings was 21 times more likely to develop leukemia within five years. That chance dropped to 2.7 times after 40 years.