Thank you for selecting this matter for debate on the Adjournment. I hoped the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications would reply; who will do so on his behalf?
Adjournment Debate. - Suspected Risk to Health of Overhead Electrical Cables.
Limerick East): I will. It looks like a health matter.
That is excellent. My preference was the other Minister but I have no doubt my points will be efficiently conveyed to the Government and the Minister directly involved. I want the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications to extend the powers and functions of the Radiological Protection Institute to cover matters pertaining to non-ionising radiation. He can do this by way of order under the Radiological Protection Act, 1991 but he has not chosen to do so and I ask him to now. I ask this because recently published studies claim a strong connection between radon and electricity transmission installations, which has given rise to high levels of anxiety among the public. Added to that is the anxiety arising from the proliferation of communications masts — there are already 210 mast applications from Telecom and a high number from ESAT. There will, therefore, be a huge proliferation of such masts up and down the country in the years ahead, and this is adding to the disquiet among the general public. I stress the urgent need for a baseline study to establish scientifically existing levels of radiation, and that must be done before approval is given for new and additional installations.
The protection of public health and safety must be the primary concern of any government. Citizens have a right to be assured that public bodies are acutely aware of any health risk that might accrue from their operations, and minimisation of such health risks must be an essential requirement of all public bodies.
Professor Henshaw of Bristol University recently published a study claiming that cancers, including leukaemia, can be caused by the trigger effect of electromagnetic radiation on radioactive gas, on radon, and radon is a factor in this country.
There is great public confusion as to which regulatory body is responsible for monitoring and investigating the cumulative effect of electromagnetic radiation and radon, and their effects on human health. It appears that there is no official body responsible for monitoring this situation. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland can only investigate and advise on radon. It has no jurisdiction over the effects of electromagnetic radiation generated by power lines and the effect that has not alone on health but also the trigger effect it can have on radon.
I call on the Minister to make a ministerial order, as allowed in the Act, to confer these responsibilities on the institute. He must give it strong enforcement powers or, alternatively, create a separate non-ionising radiological protection board with powers of intervention and enforcement. I further call on the Minister to commission a full investigation of the effects of electromagnetic radiation on radon and health.
The Minister cannot ignore the grave public disquiet caused by Professor Henshaw's report. The Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland has already confirmed that high levels of radon have been found in Irish homes, and it has confirmed that about 4 per cent of all Irish homes are above the risk level. This must be a matter of concern to the Minister.
Given that Ireland has a naturally high incidence of radon, Professor Henshaw's findings and the proximity of electromagnetic radiation generated by power lines is extremely worrying. High pylons and power lines are now running across the face of the landscape. People living close to lines erected in connection with electricity or communications, are now deeply worried, and if these lines happen to be in close proximity to residential areas or schools, there is a very high level of concern as to their long-term impact on the health of our citizens. I am asking essentially that the powers already outlined in the Act are conferred on the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland to enable it to carry out a study and to exercise enforcement powers on all future electromagnetic installations with a view to protecting health.
Limerick East): I thank Deputy Quill for raising this issue. I realise from her remarks that she expected the Minister for Transport, Energy and Communications to be here to reply. In effect, some of the questions she has put are more appropriate to the Minister for Energy than to the Minister for Health. I will ask my office to forward the transcript of Deputy Quill's remarks to my colleague so that he may reply by letter to the points she raised. I presume it was because the question links an abnormally high incidence of illness with proximity to overhead electrical cables that the Ceann Comhairle's office throught it was an appropriate matter for the Department of Health.
The report referred to by the Deputy suggests that there may be a link between the incidence of certain types of cancer and increased exposure to radon gas particles caused by electromagnetic radiation from power lines. It has attracted considerable attention and, in particular, has attracted critical comment from a wide range of authoritative scientific experts, including the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. These experts have cast considerable doubt on the conclusions of the study.
Indeed, scientists researching the effects of radon have gone so far as to argue that the effects of electromagnetic fields appear to be to lessen the risk associated with radon — in other words, the opposite conclusion to that of the study. I draw the attention of the Deputy to a letter in The Irish Times today from Dr. James P. McLaughlin of the Radon Research Group in the Department of Experimental Physics in University College, Dublin. He refers to research carried out in UCD which supports other well established evidence that the presence of electrical fields in a house helps to deposit radon decay products on surfaces, thereby reducing the probability that these substances will be inhaled. He also describes ongoing research in this area which UCD is co-ordinating with support from the EU Commission.
Professor Henshaw's study is specifically about the effect of power lines on radon and thus, indirectly, on health. There is also, of course, an ongoing scientific debate as to whether electromagnetic fields have a direct impact on health.
All significant research in this area is monitored here by the Department of Transport, Energy and Communications and the Electricity Supply Board and, where ionising radiation is involved, the Radiological Protection Institute of Ireland. The medical officers in my Department keep themselves informed of developments in this area and my Department liaises with these agencies in relation to the human health aspects.
The Department of Transport, Energy and Communications has pointed out that power line voltages and concentrations of power lines in Ireland are well below those in most industrialised countries. In 1988 and 1992 that Department published major reports on this issue, covering the latest research developments and the assessments of this research by recognised international health advisory organisations. A considerable volume of research has been carried out internationally over the years into possible adverse health effects from the electromagnetic fields surrounding power lines. The general body of scientific evidence has not conclusively established a definite link between this form or radiation and ill health.
Nevertheless, while it has not been possible to determine a definite link, neither has it been possible to discount any such relationship. For this reason it is prudent to take all such reports very seriously and continue to carefully examine them. I am advised that this latest study will be incorporated in the existing body of scientific literature and assessed by the broad scientific community. Furthermore, research and studies in this area are carried out on an ongoing basis.
In relation to research within my own direct area of responsibility, the National Cancer Registry began full registration of cancer incidence and mortality in Ireland in January 1994. Its first national report will be published later this year. This data will be of immense importance to research into the epidemiology of the disease in Ireland, and cross-referencing with any available data on relevant risk factors will be a significant aspect of such research.
Should conclusive evidence emerge that electromagnetic radiation is causing an unacceptable public health risk then appropriate remedial measures will have to be put in place. This would primarily be a matter for Government Departments and agencies with direct responsibility in the area, but I will seek to ensure that there is an appropriate response if any health risk is established.