Vol. 521 No. 1
178 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will fund the study of the effect that dioxins have on the increase in breast cancer and prostate cancer and the reduction of sperm counts; and the reason the Irish Doctors Environmental Association was unsuccessful recently in securing funding to carry out a study into dioxins and the links with medical problems. [16439/00]
Responsibility for funding health research studies of the kind referred to is a matter for the health research board. I am advised that the Irish Doctors Environmental Association made a number of applications for funding for various research projects to the board. Decisions to grant or refuse funding for particular projects are a matter for the board.
179 Mr. Allen asked the Minister for Health and Children if he will introduce a database on the levels of dioxin chemicals in the population. [16440/00]
Dioxins are mainly by-products of industrial processes and are found in air, soil, water, sediment and food. I am advised that most human exposure to dioxins is through the food chain and protecting the food supply is most important in safeguarding public health from dioxins. The World Health Organisation through its European Centre for Environment and Health in the Netherlands conducts periodic studies mainly in European countries to provide an assessment of human exposure to dioxins. Data on exposure show that measures introduced to control dioxin release in a number of countries have resulted in substantial reductions in exposure to these compounds over the past few years.
