Sir, - On one side of the Irish Sea the British Government is proposing to operate a MOX fuel production plant, which our Attorney General, Michael McDowell, stated last week should not go ahead because "we have the right not to be subjected to further radioactive pollution" and because "it will expose us to risks of accidents from the plant and from nuclear transports".
At the same time, in Ringsend the Irish Government is planning to build an incinerator which will burn 500,000 tonnes of plastics, paper and anything else that can be thrown into it - an incinerator that we know will produce cancer-causing dioxins, either in the form of emissions to the air, or to groundwater when the dioxins eventually leach out of ash that remains after incineration. It seems we are entitled not to be subjected to pollution from a British cancer-causing MOX plant, but it's OK if we do "irreparable harm" to Ireland by incinerating our leftovers, instead of re-using or recycling them.
A case of double standards? - Yours, etc.,
Peter Butler, Ballindereen Lower, Kilcogan, Galway.