Investigations refute Down Syndrome link

YOUR editorial (Irish Examiner, February 21) called for an investigation of the health effects of the 1957 Windscale (Sellafield) fire, and the allegation that a cluster of Down Syndrome cases in Dundalk were linked to it.

An investigation of the Dundalk cases was done by Dr Geoffrey Dean, et al, in 2000, and it firmly refuted this idea. Reasons for the conclusions include the fact Down Syndrome was not observed among the Japanese atomic bomb survivors or after the Chernobyl accident. Also, the wind was blowing from the northwest, so most of the fallout was in England, where no increase in Down Syndrome has been confirmed.

A retrospective study by Gallagher, et al (UCD) confirmed there was no fallout in Dundalk. Also, how could the fallout have been selectively deposited on the school the mothers attended without affecting surrounding areas? Dean, et al, also examined the incidence of Down Syndrome in Co Louth and the Mourne area and found no difference when compared to other regions of the country.