Sir, - I refer to the letter from Dr Tom O Flaherty (June 25th).
While I am glad to have Dr O Flaherty's assurance that the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland is in no way influenced in its judgements by the proponents of nuclear power, Dr O Flaherty also says that he is satisfied with the assessment of the health effects of Chernobyl by Dr Waight, the keynote speaker at the conference organised by them to mark the Chernobyl anniversary.
Do I understand him to mean that he, and therefore the RPII, are asserting that there are no radiation induced increases in cancer, leukaemia, congenital abnormalities, miscarriages or stillbirths in the affected areas, and that the documented increase in all these conditions are, as Dr Waight asserts, the result of psychological stress? As Dr Waight was the only speaker on the health effects of Chernobyl, and as Dr O Flaherty says he has full confidence in him, this is the only possible interpretation. It is a very serious matter to deny the reality of radiation effects on a population, and therefore to deny them appropriate treatment and further investigation. This has already happened and is documented in the case of the children with thyroid cancer. It is now, I believe, happening to the clean up workers, many of whom also have children with thyroid cancer.
These are not academic issues, they have real consequences for real people. Children may have died as a result of the neglect consequent upon the mis-classification of thyroid cancer after 1991. I cannot believe that it is the intention of the RPII that such dreadful consequence would happen, but we must understand that this can only be prevented by rigorous and balanced search for the truth. This is why I am asking for the stance by Dr Waight to be balanced by other experts on the health effects of Chernobyl, by inviting, for example those doctors who were involved in the studies of thyroid cancer in children in the affected areas, and who proved them to be radiation induced. It is still important that this does happen.
It is by no means a strained analogy to say that I cannot have confidence in the ability of the RPII to give impartial advice on the health effects of Sellafield on the Irish population if they are so one sided on the health effects of Chernobyl. We need a thorough going and critical assessment of, for example, why the congenital abnormalities in the Dundalk area are twice the national average. Last week in the European parliament I asked the commission officials responsible to look closely at new evidence which may corroborate Dr Patricia Sheehan's findings on the 1957 Windscale fire. It is not acceptable when such commission officials quote the RPII as the basis for their assertions that the health effects of Sellafield on the Irish population are negligible. - Yours, etc.,
La Touche Place, Greystones, Co Wicklow.