Cancer kills 55 in two-mile radius

THERE were 55 deaths from cancer - three times the national average - in a small area of Co Limerick where residents claim industrial pollution has harmed public health.

Residents in the Cappagh/Croagh area of Askeaton believe the region is a cancer cluster as a result of industrial pollution. The incidence of cancer is increasing annually and it has almost doubled in the last two years. The cluster is now spreading to surrounding regions, locals claim.

A 5.3 million EPA-led environmental investigation ruled out any link between industrial pollution and human and animal health problems in the area. The investigation was carried out between 1995 and 1998, but the findings were not published until 2001.