By Scott Richardson
srichardson (at) pantagraph.com

NORMAL -- Cynthia Sauer is not an anti-nuclear activist.

She's just a mother who wants to know what caused her 10-year-old daughter's brain tumor.

Sauer has asked federal nuclear regulators if the reason could be that her family lives near two Exelon-owned nuclear reactors in the Grundy County community of Minooka.

In testimony before the Nuclear Regulatory Commission last month, she cited statistics she says show higher rates of child cancers and infant mortality in Grundy County.

But Sauer didn't get answers; she got turned away.

"They've called us 'statistically challenged,'" said Sauer, who will speak at the Nuclear Reality Conference Friday through Feb. 22 at Illinois State University.

Exelon counters that there remains no evidence linking the operation of nuclear facilities with an increase in health problems -- a position previously supported by state nuclear regulators and the nuclear industry.

Sauer's concern came after a cancer specialist treating her daughter, Sarah, said he suspected the cause of her illness was environmental. Although Sarah has physical and cognitive limitations, she is now cancer-free.

Sauer and her husband, Joseph, a medical doctor, dug into records of the Illinois Department of Public Health and the National Center for Health Statistics available on the Internet. Comparing the first half of the 1990s with the later half, they found:

� Cancer rates for children 15 and younger in Grundy County rose 378 percent, compared to a 13 percent rise statewide;

� Cancer deaths rose 42 percent in the 25-to-44 age group, compared to a statewide decrease of 8 percent;

� Infant mortality rose 98 percent in Grundy County, compared to an 11 percent drop in the state.

The last result is similar to a study by the Twin City-based No New Nukes, which opposes Exelon's request for NRC approval of a possible second reactor at Clinton.

The group's study, also based on health department figures available on the Internet, showed infant deaths rose an average 14 percent in nine counties downwind from the Clinton reactor in the first three years of operation, beginning in 1987. The statewide rate fell 5.4 percent during the same period.

The infant mortality rate dropped 38 percent when the Clinton plant was offline for three years, then rose 69.5 percent in the first three years after operations resumed, according to No New Nukes. Other Illinois counties showed a 4.6 percent decrease in that time period.

Plant spokesman Bruce Paulsen said both studies are flawed because no cause and effect has been proven between nuclear power generation and human illness.

He mentioned other possible factors, such as teen pregnancy rates and unemployment.

"It's a sad thing they die, but they don't say why," said Paulsen, noting nuclear plants are heavily monitored and regulated.

"They just say there's a nuclear reactor somewhere in the state. ...We take our obligation seriously to protect the health and safety of the public and our employees," Paulsen said.

But Sauer still has questions.

"I'm not making an allegation whatsoever," she said. "But as a parent, put yourself in my position. You have a child diagnosed with this and quite 'coincidentally' other children (in the area) are diagnosed with cancer.

"I'm not saying they (reactors) should be shut down. I'm saying there should be an investigation," said Sauer who doesn't see herself as a crusader.

"I see myself as a mother and an advocate for her family to be sure they are being raised in a safe environment," she said.

Conference details

What: Nuclear Reality Conference

When: Friday through Feb. 22. Registration begins at 6 p.m. Friday. Conference closes at 2:45 p.m. Feb. 22

Where: Stevenson Hall rooms 100 and 221B, Illinois State University

Topics: A wide range of issues related to nuclear energy; also an overview of the status of the nuclear industry in Illinois.

Sponsors: Include the Student Environmental Action Coalition, the Student Environmental Health Association, ISU departments of biology and geography, Mennonite College of Nursing, Illinois Wesleyan University environmental studies program, and Youth Power Shift Campaign.

Registration: $20

More information: Call (309) 454-1836, or visit www.nukereality.org.