Should I be concerned that the significant excess circulatory disease found in Port Hope could be a result of the nuclear industry in the town?
A16. No. The excess circulatory disease found in Port Hope is highly unlikely to be related to the nuclear industry in the town. Statistically significant excess of circulatory disease (heart disease, arteriosclerosis, hypertension, diseases of the arteries, arterioles and capillaries) was found in Port Hope and represented over half of all deaths in Port Hope residents. Excess circulatory disease was found consistently in the various ecological studies of residents’ mortality in Port Hope and excess hypertensive disease mortality was also found in radium and uranium workers in Port Hope. In the Eldorado study, there was no relationship between workers’ occupational exposures and any type of circulatory disease mortality, so their exposures did not cause their excess hypertensive disease. Excess circulatory disease was also found in all Northumberland County (excluding Port Hope), so these findings are not specific to Port Hope and are consistent with the rest of the community. Circula
