Thursday, 23 November, 2006

ABC NT Local News

The Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies is distancing itself from a report on cancer rates for Indigenous people in the Kakadu region of the Northern Territory.

The discussion paper says Indigenous people in Kakadu, which surrounds the Ranger uranium mine, have recorded 90 per cent higher cancer rates than those expected for Aboriginal people across the Territory.

The front page says the discussion paper is from the Institute.

But the Institute has released a statement saying the paper was neither commissioned or authorised by the Institute's governing council and does not reflect its views.

One of the authors of the report says health monitoring of uranium mines is inadequate.

The report reveals there were 27 cases of cancer in the park's Indigenous population in the 10 years to 2004, when 14 were expected.

The deputy director of the Menzies School of Health, John Condon, admits it is a small sample that does not show a direct link between cancer and the local Ranger uranium mine.

But he says that is because there is not enough specific health data available.

"There is no prospective monitoring of the entire population that live in that area, we don't know how long people have lived there, lived away, moved in, moved out, so we were only able to look at sort of an average population over the last 10 years," he said.

"Cancer diagnosed in people living there at the time - it really is - when you try and do it retrospectively as we found, very unsatisfactory."

The mine's operator, Energy Resources of Australia (ERA), says data from the Office of the Supervising Scientist shows doses of radiation to residents of Jabiru and surrounding communities have always been well below recommended limits.

The NT Health Department says the high cancer rate is lifestyle related.