Town petitions for study over high cancer rate

NEARLY 1,000 people have signed petitions in the last 24 hours which were launched to pressure the Government into carrying out a baseline health study in a Cork harbour town blighted by cancer.

Yesterday people queued to sign petitions in shops in Cobh after Health Minister Mary Harney refused to carry out a health study in the town, which has a 37% higher cancer rate than the national average.

Environment Minister John Gormley had pushed his cabinet colleagues for the study after 500,000 tonnes of toxic waste was discovered in a dump on Haulbowline island near the town two years ago.

The toxic waste included Chromium 6, one of the better known carcinogenic elements.

Cllr John Mulvihill Junior, who lost his mother to cancer more than 20 years ago, supplied petitions in a number of local shops, including Garvey’s supermarket, where many locals queued to sign it yesterday.

“Our purpose is to try and get as many people as possible living on Great Island to sign it. The population is around 12,000, so it would be good if we got every man, woman and child to sign,” Mr Mulvihill said.

“This is not a political exercise, but an effort to get a community to fight for the baseline health study,” he added.

The councillor said that nearly every family on Great Island in Cork Harbour knew somebody affected by cancer and the problem was particularly acute in the urban area of Cobh.

“We want a full baseline health study carried out. We don’t know if the high cancer rates are associated with the toxic waste which was discovered next to the former Irish Steel plant, but we need to find out what is causing it,” he said.

Meanwhile, local woman Amy Cullen has set up an online petition which can be accessed at www.ipetitions.com/petition/cobhharbourhealthstudy.

“I was just outraged when I heard Minister Harney felt there wasn’t a need for such a study. Regardless of what is going on at Haulbowline the facts are that Cobh has a very high rate of cancer and respiratory illnesses and something needs to be done about that,” Ms Cullen said.