Down Syndrome cases - Time for full Sellafield fire investigation

IT has long been feared that a nuclear accident in Britain would have dire consequences for Ireland.

Bringing a chilling sense of reality to that scenario, the spectre of an accident which happened 50 years ago is today haunting the daughters of girls who attended one of the country’s top convent boarding schools.

In the autumn of 1957 fire broke out at the notorious Sellafield atomic station. The incident was swept under the carpet by Britain and remained an official secret for 40 years. Now called Windscale, it is still notorious despite the name change.

Coincidentally, several pupils at St Louis’ convent secondary school in Dundalk became ill at the time and were taken to hospital. It subsequently emerged that a number of girls from the school later had Down Syndrome children.

Ireland has the world’s highest rate of Down Syndrome but it is alarming that a cluster has now emerged among daughters of women who attended the school.

This highlights the need for a full investigation.