The Hanford Nuclear site in Washington is attracting renewed attention as rare birth defects, including babies born with parts of their brain missing, spike around the facility. An epidemiologist assigned by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) claims the incidents are not focused near the Hanford site, prompting the question how it can be that the CDC official failed to notice that the Hanford site is located in the center of the cluster.

Incidence 400 percent above normal. The Washington State Health Department is trying to identify the cause of an unusually high number of rare birth defects in south central Washington, around the leaking Hanford nuclear site. In 2013, seven cases of anencephaly, a rare and often fatal birth defect were reported in a remote region of Washington State, clustered around the Hanford site.

There is still no explanation for the spike, said State Health Department officials. The seven cases reported in 2013 bring the number of reported cases in the region, which includes Yakima, Benton and Franklin, up to 30 since 2010.

Ancephaly is a rare form of birth defect in which children fail to develop parts of their brain. While the national rate is at 2.1 cases per […]