Close to 50 people from the Baltinglass area of Co Wicklow who underwent health screening following the discovery of uranium in their drinking water over a year ago have been recalled for further tests, it has emerged.
A small number of those recalled were found to have "relatively unusual renal disease", according to an informed source. The additional tests are being done in an attempt to see if the initial test results were accurate and scientists will then try to assess whether there is any correlation between their disease and the presence of uranium in their water supply. Initial test results however have shown no biochemical evidence of renal problems being related to the presence of uranium.
The discovery of high levels of uranium in a well supplying up to 200 homes in Baltinglass was made public in November 2002. The discovery was made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), which informed Wicklow County Council. It took the council over a month to inform the South Western Area Health Board, which immediately recommended the well be shut.
The EPA told the council the levels of uranium in the water were in excess of World Health Organisation guidelines.
Uranium 238 is a naturally occurring stable isotope of uranium which decays to release radon gas, which can be carcinogenic. In other forms, uranium is a common nuclear fuel.
The health board established a screening programme to determine if the uranium had any ill-effects on people in the area. It established a scientific committee to oversee the screening and to report on their findings.
Local residents became concerned at the length they were waiting for results of blood and urine tests carried out during screening, when a number were recalled for further tests, according to Mr Tommy Cullen, a local independent councillor and a member of the health board. He was among those screened, as his home was supplied with water from the well.
Almost 600 people were originally screened, including those who used the water and those who did not.
"It's concerning to me that there appears to be a substantial number of residents from such a small study base recalled for further tests," he said yesterday.
"While I want to pay tribute to the expert group, it is over a year now since the study commenced and I am concerned about what appears to be an inordinate delay given that the results of blood and urine sampling for things like hepatitis C would take a maximum of three weeks, and in these cases people have not got conclusive results back up to a year later."
A spokesman for the health board said the Baltinglass water study was ongoing. He said 598 people had been screened and the results of individual tests needed to be analysed in the context of a wider evaluation of the group as a whole. "To take a view of individual tests would be premature and quite possibly erroneous," he said.
He confirmed a number of people had been called for repeat tests. "However, this should not be taken as indicating anything untoward at this time, as the reason may well relate to indicators of a false reading and the need to validate a result.
"In fact a number of people have already been called for repeat tests and the result has been satisfactory," he said.
"It should be noted that in a study of a wide number of people such as this, medical issues may arise in individuals, the cause of which may not necessarily be connected with the presence of uranium in the Lathaleere well.
"This is why it is vital that we await the final results of this scientific process as determined by the eminent team leading it.
"While the scientific steering committee will come to a final conclusion when all of the results and information are to hand, it should be emphasised that to date nothing has been identified in relation to the presence of uranium in the Lathaleere well that would give cause for concern," the health board spokesman added.