27th February, 2002
Dr. Henry: I warmly congratulate Senator Ross on having brought this very important motion before the House. I am a little concerned that the sentiments expressed in the amendment are not being addressed seriously enough by the Government. We can see that a catastrophic accident, so well described by the Minister, would have a terrible effect on all of us and on a very large area of western Europe.
We are in a very poor position regarding the effect of low dose radiation, perhaps from Sellafield. Studies carried out in this country have been thoroughly gone over in recent years by Doctor Geoffrey Deane, the former head of the Medical Social Research Board. He found we had no evidence to show that there was an increase in Down's syndrome or anything like that. We are leaving ourselves in a weak position to show any abnormalities because those in Sellafield could point to our own problems regarding pollution and suggest that various conditions are due to the pollution on this island rather pollution from Sellafield.
When Doctor Margot Wallström, the EU Environment Commissioner, was here recently she pointed out the particular problems we have with water pollution and waste disposal. She commented on the latest report from the Environmental Protection Agency and highlighted in particular the dangers of nitrate pollution. We all know that there is an EU nitrate directive, I think since 1992. We have not brought it into effect in this country yet. Some 38% of our ground water is polluted. Rural supplies are polluted by faeces as well as by nitrates and phosphates. A large proportion of the country is affected by a high proportion of nitrates in the ground water due to the abuse of fertilisers and slurry.
Radiation can cause an increase in instances of cancer. However, it can also be caused by an increase in the level of nitrates in the ground water. It would be very hard for us to suggest that perhaps the increase in oesophageal cancer in this country is due to our proximity to Sellafield when they might raise the nitrates in our ground water. It is the sort of thing we need to clean up rapidly so that if there are deleterious effects to health on this island, we can demonstrate that they do emanate from an extraneous source, if that it is the case, and are not due to our own problems.
Another appalling statistic came out recently from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, which conducted research throughout Europe on the incidence of congenital defects in children. We do not get a proper survey of this in Ireland to show the level of congenital defects on a provincial or even more local basis. These surveyors, who looked at 23 landfill sites all over Europe, found that women who gave birth and lived within three kilometres of old landfill sites had a 40% higher risk of chromosome abnormality in pregnancy than mothers who lived between three and seven kilometres from such sites. A previous study showed a 33% increase in the prevalence of non-chromosonal congenital abnormalities such as spina bifida, cleft palate, heart and gastrointestinal anomalies in children born to women who lived within the three kilometre limit.
We know that the east coast of this country is alive with the most appalling landfill sites. It will be very hard for us to show that the effects of any problem here are due to Sellafield unless we make an effort to clean up our own situation. It is dreadful to think that in County Wicklow, the Minister's county, there is apparently an enormous amount of toxic waste in the landfill sites. In other areas there is hospital waste, which could include radioactive products. In order to demonstrate the damage Sellafield is doing to us we have to be very careful to make sure that we have a baseline here from which we can work. The faster the Government tightens up the regulations regarding landfill and does something about those who flout the laws by bringing them before the courts the better. The nitrate directive should also be introduced as fast as possible.
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