Sir, - Growing evidence points to the abject lack of interest by the statutory agencies in monitoring the adverse health effects from environmental pollution.
Radiation from mobile telephone masts appears to adversely affect the health of a certain subgroup of our population. We are aware of no study in Ireland to determine the epidemiology of such illness.
We note with regret the outcome of the Watson v EPA case and remain concerned about possible adverse health effects of ingesting genetically engineered food, already on sale in our shops. New medicines undergo many years of testing before their release into the markets and even then, we have been found wanting.
We rely on Earthwatch to lodge a formal complaint with the European Commission over the government's failure to bring forward legislation to improve monitoring of air quality in Irish cities. We need a national asthma register.
We need more restrictions on the use of pesticides and increased monitoring of their residues on the food that we eat. We also need a register of pesticide-induced illness.
We are concerned about the growing rich/poor divide in Ireland. Relative poverty has been described as being the single biggest determinant of ill health in the developed world. We urgently need a new indicator of well-being of our country which goes beyond GDP and budget surpluses and incorporates indices of public health.
In short, we need an agency to monitor public health as we "develop". We need more documentation of morbidity and mortality, otherwise we will be told there is no evidence that any of the above issues may cause ill health, when the truth is no one was actually looking. - Yours, etc.,
Elizabeth Cullen (Dr), Irish Doctors' Environmental Association, Kilcullen, Co Kildare.