Madam, - I refer to the letter from Professors Walton and Van Der Putten (May 6th) and entirely agree with their desire to reduce the level of radiation phobia in the community.
I would like to point out, however, that there are 50,000 registered blind and partially sighted children in Belarus (Chernobyl region), in a population of 10 million people. In the whole of Ireland, for a population of about five million, there are fewer than 1,000 registered blind and partially sighted children.
On a recent visit to Belarus I visited several institutions for the blind. A lot of the eye diseases noticed in the children are diseases of the aged and are not normally seen among children in western Europe. The ophthalmologists in charge have no doubt that the eye diseases are related to radiation.
While many of the affected children are the offspring of children who themselves were severely exposed to the initial disaster, not all of the parents were so exposed.
I respectfully suggest that the above facts speak for themselves. - Yours, etc.,
PADDY CASEY, FAOI, FAAO,
Optometrist,
Cornamagh,
Athlone,
Co Westmeath.