Editing Schleswig-Holstein (section)

==== Nuclear power ====
There were three nuclear power plants in Schleswig-Holstein: [[Krümmel Nuclear Power Plant|Krümmel]], [[Brunsbüttel Nuclear Power Plant|Brunsbüttel]], and [[Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant|Brokdorf]]. The last operating plant in Schleswig-Holstein, the [[Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant|Brokdorf-plant]] was shut down on new-years eve 2021.<ref name="NDR">{{Cite web|last=NDR|title=AKW Brokdorf ist in der Silvesternacht vom Netz gegangen|url=https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Stromproduktion-im-AKW-Brokdorf-ist-vorbei,akw376.html|access-date=1 January 2022|website=www.ndr.de|language=de|archive-date=1 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220101171840/https://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Stromproduktion-im-AKW-Brokdorf-ist-vorbei,akw376.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

There is also a nuclear research center known "Helmholtz-Zentrum [[Geesthacht]]" (rebranded as Hereon) with 2 research reactors, located right next to the Krümmel plant.<ref name="Reactors">{{cite web|title=Demolition of research reactor FRG-1|url=http://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Abbau-FRG-1-Geesthacht-Unterlagen-oeffentlich,forschungsreaktor104.html|language=de|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=6 September 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170906223541/http://www.ndr.de/nachrichten/schleswig-holstein/Abbau-FRG-1-Geesthacht-Unterlagen-oeffentlich,forschungsreaktor104.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

During the 1990s, ten more cases of leukemia among children than was expected were identified in [[Elbmarsch]], near the Krümmel plant. Anti-nuclear activists believed it was due to the nuclear plant, which led to several investigations. The reported discovery of small spherical beads of nuclear material in the area led to further concern, as well as the presence of minute amounts of plutonium in the [[Elbe]]. The origins of the nuclear material were disputed, with one report determining them to not be that of the Krümmel plant. Another report claimed that they may have come from an undisclosed fire in 1986, however this theory has been questioned as it would have required a substantial government coverup. The Chernobyl disaster has also been suggested as a source, though is considered unlikely. The probable source of the material, especially in the Elbe, is nuclear reprocessing plants in France. A 2010 report exonerated the nuclear power plants on the Elbe as the cause of contamination. Further doubt was cast on the nature of the supposed beads of nuclear material, with a Federal commission chastising the original commission that claimed to have discovered the beads. The exact cause of the increased leukemia cases remains unknown, and could be due to other environmental factors, or even by chance.<ref name="Leukemia1">{{cite journal|title=Childhood leukemia in the vicinity of the Geesthacht nuclear establishments near Hamburg, Germany|year=2007|pmid=17589605|last1=Hoffmann|first1=W.|last2=Terschueren|first2=C.|last3=Richardson|first3=D. B.|journal=Environmental Health Perspectives|volume=115|issue=6|pages=947–952|doi=10.1289/ehp.9861|pmc=1892150|bibcode=2007EnvHP.115..947H }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Dickmann|first1=Barbara|title=Und niemand weiß, warum... Das rätselhafte Kindersterben. 2008.|language=german}}</ref><ref name="An almost perfect crime">{{cite news|title=An almost perfect crime|newspaper=Der Freitag |url=https://www.freitag.de/autoren/der-freitag/ein-fast-perfektes-verbrechen|language=de|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=26 February 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210226235334/https://www.freitag.de/autoren/der-freitag/ein-fast-perfektes-verbrechen|url-status=live |last1=Wetzel |first1=Wolf }}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Urban|first1=Martin|title="Atomperlen aus Geesthacht. Die "Atombombe in der Aktentasche": Forscher glauben, Ursache der Kinder-Tumore in der Gemeinde Geesthacht entdeckt zu haben. In: Süddeutsche Zeitung. 2. November 2004."|language=de}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Wie kommt das Plutonium in die Elbe?|date=13 August 2010 |url=https://www.shz.de/lokales/norddeutsche-rundschau/wie-kommt-das-plutonium-in-die-elbe-id2401636.html|language=german|access-date=7 April 2021|archive-date=22 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210522051336/https://www.shz.de/lokales/norddeutsche-rundschau/wie-kommt-das-plutonium-in-die-elbe-id2401636.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The nuclear plants have further been questioned as a source of the cases due to comparison to the [[Savannah River Site]] in the United States. Despite release of radiation at the Savannah River Site, there is no increase in cases of leukemia around it. Alternative hypotheses for the cause of the cases have included [[electromagnetic field]]s, parental [[radiation]] exposure prior to conception, other [[carcinogen]]s, and [[benzene]] exposure; however, none have been supported by the existing evidence. Intriguingly, a larger case-control study in [[Lower Saxony]] found a correlation between the "untrained immune system" (as judged as contact with other children, vaccinations, etc.) and leukemia risk, suggested that an immature immune system that has not been challenged is at greater risk for developing malignancy, possibly secondary to an undetermined environment factor.<ref name="Grosche 1999">{{cite journal|last1=Grosche|first1=B|last2=Lackland|first2=D|last3=Mohr|first3=L|last4=Dunbar|first4=J|last5=Nicholas|first5=J|last6=Burkart|first6=W|last7=Hoel|first7=D|year=1999|title=Leukaemia in the vicinity of two tritium-releasing nuclear facilities: A comparison of the Kruemmel site, Germany, and the Savannah River site, South Carolina, USA|journal=Journal of Radiological Protection|volume=19|issue=3|pages=243–252|doi=10.1088/0952-4746/19/3/302|pmid=10503702|bibcode=1999JRP....19..243G|s2cid=250912929}}</ref><ref name="HoffmannTerschueren2007">{{cite journal|last1=Hoffmann|first1=Wolfgang|last2=Terschueren|first2=Claudia|last3=Richardson|first3=David B.|year=2007|title=Childhood Leukemia in the Vicinity of the Geesthacht Nuclear Establishments near Hamburg, Germany|journal=Environmental Health Perspectives|volume=115|issue=6|pages=947–952|doi=10.1289/ehp.9861|issn=0091-6765|pmc=1892150|pmid=17589605|bibcode=2007EnvHP.115..947H }}</ref><gallery mode="packed" heights="150">
File:Kernkraftwerk Kruemmel Side retouched.jpg|NPP Krümmel
File:Lce1.jpg|View form Elbe: left is NPP Krümmel, right is the Research Center.
File:Skizze cluster.gif|KKK – NPP Krümmel, GKSS – Research Center
File:AKW Brokdorf.jpg|Brokdorf Nuclear Power Plant
</gallery>