[Press Release: February 11th, 2002]

GREENS WARN OF HEALTH RISK FROM WASTE DISPOSAL SITES!

The Wicklow Greens have responded with concern to the results of the first ever cross-border study into Ireland's waste management crisis. This study was carried out by NUI Maynooth and Queens University and warns that leaks from landfills can release toxic chemicals, heavy metals and bacteria into soil and water courses. According to the study, this results in "long-term environmental contamination and human health problems".

According to Green Party councillor, Deirdre de Burca, the report 'Waste Management Strategy: A Cross-Border Perspective' contains a reference to research carried out by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "This research found that children whose mothers lived within 1.8 miles of 21 industrial landfill sites in five European countries were 33 percent more likely to have birth defects than children whose mothers lived between 1.8 and 4.2 miles from the sites" she says.

"The study also revealed low birth weight and pre-term births associated with women living near a municipal waste landfill in Montreal" says de Burca.The study cites a "Friends of the Earth" survey of 100 UK landfill sites claiming that over 33pc of sites were contaminating surface or ground water.

Councillor de Burca points out that although landfill is the least preferable disposal method, the study says it remains the best environmental option for many wastes until new technologies make recycling "a realistic option". "The study also found that accusations of NIMBYISM (not in my back yard)in relation to proposed landfills or incinerators did not appear to be well-founded" says de Burca. "Most communities were found to pass quickly from opposition to developing viable and sustainable waste strategies based largely on recycling and waste reduction".

The joint Maynooth/Queens study comes shortly after the publication of a report of the British Imperial College which found that there was a 7% greater chance of neural tube defects such as spina bifida and a 6% increased risk of low birth weight among children living within two kilometres of landfill sites.

According to Councillor de Burca, these findings will be of particular concern to residents of Avoca and Arklow, who live downstream from Wicklow's largest landfill at Ballymurtagh, Avoca. She points out that the Ballymurtagh landfill is particularly porous due to past mining in the area. Apparently, blasting from the open-pit mining has fractured the rock surrounding the landfill, allowing toxins to drain into the Avoca river and surrounding soil more easily.

The Wicklow Greens are also concerned about the public health and environmental impacts of many illegal landfills recently found in the Garden County,in particular those in West Wicklow.

For further information please contact Deirdre de Burca on 086 8061450 or email deburca@wicklowgreens.org.