THE Government has indicated it may fund research planned by the North Eastern Health Board into the possibility of a link between sickness in the health board area and radiation from Sellafield.
The research could be used by four Co Louth residents currently taking a case against British Nuclear Fuels, which operates the nuclear fuels plant in Cumbria.
A number of initiatives proposed by the health board have been submitted to the Department in a request for funding. The amount involved is a "six-figure sum", according to the board.
A spokeswoman for the Department of Health said the Government was "committed to supporting research which would be relevant to the case being taken against British Nuclear Fuels. The specific proposals from the health board are, being examined at the Cancer, miscarriages, stillbirths, congenital malformations, low levels of vitamin B 12 and thyroid gland problems leading to mental and physical sluggishness are conditions about which doctors from Co Louth have expressed concern.
They have speculated that an incidence higher than usual of such conditions may be occurring in the Co Louth area due to its proximity to Sellafield.
However, specialists have pointed out that local clusters of an illness or condition are not necessarily unusual.
Dr Mary Grehan, a GP who has been practising in Dundalk since 1978, said a study of patients aged under 70 attending her practice revealed an incidence of vitamin B12 deficiency of 98 patients a year. The incidence should be one person under 70 per year, she said.
Dr Grehan said Vitamin B was particularly susceptible to radiation. She said she would be "very easy to convince" that a link existed between Sellafield and health problems in Co Louth.
The North Eastern Health Board is organising a meeting with GPs from the Louth area. The research proposed by the board would establish a surveillance system for congenital malformations in the area, to form part of a European surveillance system.
The health board is also to conduct a retrospective review and evaluation of all relevant research which has been carried out in the Louth area.
Dr Harry Comber, director of the National Cancer Registry, established in 1994, said it would take five to 10 years before a sufficient amount of data would be accumulated to allow the identification of significant local variations in the incidence of common cancers.
"We are very aware of the concerns of the people of north Louth, and all I can say is that up to now we have not noticed anything out of the ordinary there.
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