There is no proven medical link between the incidence of cancer and the Delimara power station, according to two oncologists.
“There is no evidence that there is an increased cancer risk around the power station but, having said that, we should strive for clearer and less wasteful energy anyway,” oncologist Nicholas Refalo said, adding that claiming otherwise was being “alarmist unnecessarily”.
The issue emerged on Friday at a Labour Party activity in Marsaxlokk, when a woman who lives near the Delimara power station recounted how her father died of cancer, as had her 55-year-old sister and another relative.
The woman, who was asked to speak by Labour leader Joseph Muscat, said one of her sons, aged three, also had cancer and there was a high rate of asthma in her family.
Dr Muscat pledged he would shut down the Delimara power station which he described as a “cancer and asthma factory”. When contacted by The Times, Dr Refalo said that one could not take what the woman said at face value since the high rate of cancer in her family could depend on other variables such as her socio-economic status, smoking habits and family history.
“I don’t like being alarmist unnecessarily,” he...
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