Fears Cobh cancer rate linked to plant ‘baseless’

Concerns that cancer rates are higher in Cobh, Co Cork, due to its proximity to a former steel plant do not stand up to scrutiny, according to the new director of the National Cancer Registry (NCR).

In a wide-ranging interview in today’s Irish Examiner, Boston native Kerri Clough-Gorr said that while cancer clusters do occur, they are rarely linked to environmental factors.

Prof Clough-Gorr gives an example of how she was convinced her own US neighbourhood was affected by a cancer cluster but that, when the numbers were crunched, there was “no statistical evidence”.