Radiation causes 800 people afflicted with cancer every year in Dhi Qar province

(IraqiNews.com) Governor of Dhi Qar, Yahya Mohammed Baqir al-Nasseri revealed that between 500 to 800 new cases of cancer are registered ‘annually,’ according to the official data of the health institutions in the province.

He attributed the cause to the negative effects of the radiative pollutants caused by war remnants and its impact on the environment in Dhi Qar, while pointed out that a special team from the ministries of Science, Technology and Environment began to isolate the polluting materials of radiation in the environmental quarry (50 km southwest of Nasiriyah).

The governor said in a statement received by IraqiNews.com, “Radioactive contaminants resulted by war remnants  do have a negative impact on the environment in the province,” noting that, “The official data suggests between 500 to 800 new cases of cancer are reported every year.”

He added, “The province administration, with the Ministry of Science and Technology, was following the procedures to expedite the process of removing the radioactively contaminated materials for more than a year after it was delayed in the last period.