Admittedly, people with a high consumption of local food had an increased risk of cancer, but the researchers believe that this is because the exposure to pollution was higher back in time.

2,200 people who lived near a glassworks or glassworks landfill for at least five years during the period 1979-2004 have been asked to answer a questionnaire about how much and how often they have eaten locally produced food. And despite the fact that those who have been major consumers of local meat and fish had an increased risk of getting cancer, the researchers do not believe that it is precisely their consumption that is the only explanation for the increased risk.

Emissions and pollution higher in the past

Ingela Helmfrid, who has led and completed most of the study, is a doctoral student at the Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine at Linköping University, and also a biologist at Occupational and Environmental Medicine at Region Östergötland.

- We believe that the increased risk is also related to, for example, living in the glass kingdom during the period when the exposure to pollution was greater, before having flue gas purification and when discharging water from the glass mills in local watercourses. You are more sensitive as a child, says Ingela Helmfrid.

Low risk today

The research results are a continuation of previous studies of the metal content in the blood of living in glassworks areas, which SVT Nyheter Småland previously reported. The conclusions are based on both measured blood levels, register data and survey data. And the results can thus be summarized as that the risks that residents in the area are exposed to today are low.

- The cancer risk for the individual in the studied area is low. There are several factors that affect cancer development and it takes a long time to develop cancer, says Ingela Helmfrid.