Trim residents bid to establish why estate is being ravaged by cancer

Some 37 people have been afflicted with cancer in the Mornington Heights estate in Trim in the past 12 years - and 16 of them have died, according to statistics compiled by a group of local residents who are seeking answers to what they say are high rates of the killer disease in their estate. A committee was formed last December to try and establish what is causing the high number of cancer deaths in the estate in recent years and the group wants the HSE to undertake a comprehensive health study in the estate. Of the 37 people who have suffered from cancer in the last 12 years, 16 have died, while 21 have survived. The ages of sufferers vary from one year to mid-70s. The committee's research shows that the highest numbers of sufferers are in the late 20 to mid-40s age group and that cancers include breast and ovarian cancer in females, testicular cancer in males as well as stomach, throat and skin cancers. Mena Kelly, who is involved in the group, said that four people have been diagnosed with cancer so far this year and that, in the past 18 months, five women and two men have died from cancer. She said that in the space of one week last year, two young women had been buried. About 10 people have received treatment for cancer, completed treatment or are about to begin treatment so far this year. A petition calling for a health study into cancer incidents in the estate was forwarded to the HSE earlier this year by the group which has compiled these latest statistics after receiving a response from the HSE that it was not happy with. The committee is to forward their statistics in due course to the HSE. Mrs Kelly said: "We sent a petition in to see would the HSE do anything about all the sick people in the estate. They sent back a letter to say there is no cluster of cancer in the area and that the figures are actually low. We wanted them to come out and talk to us and give us some idea how to go about finding out what is causing this." The response issued by the HSE to the petition said that it had requested the National Cancer Registry to carry out an analysis on cancer incidents in the Trim rural electoral division from 1999-2006 and that "no statistically significantly high results were found and, in fact, cancer incidence in the area was generally lower than expected, based on known rates for Meath overall". However, Ms Kelly said these figures were for a much wider area and that they want a study into the incidence of cancer in the Mornington Heights estate specifically. A spokesperson for the HSE said that data was not available from the National Cancer Registry for a smaller area than the Trim Rural Electoral Division and that they looked at the information available and found the rate of cancer is not high overall. She added that the HSE has not been made aware of high levels of cancer in the area by any GPs or doctors in the area. The spokesperson said that if the group had any other queries, they could come back to the Director of Public Health with their concerns. Theresa Connor, who is also a member of the group, said: "Trim is a small town. I don't know of any other estate where there are so many cases of cancer. In some estates, they don't even know of one person suffering from cancer." She said they are not accepting the HSE's response and are still calling for them to do a study. "We want them to compare Mornington Heights with another estate a similar size and see whether there is the same amount of cases in any other part of Meath." Mrs Kelly said: "So many young women have died in a short space of time. It's not just one or two and there are more diagnoses being made. We're really worried. It's more than coincidence." Johnny Connolly said he felt residents were being fobbed off by the letter from the HSE and felt they are not taking the group seriously. Cllr Ray Butler, who has been supporting the group, said they undertook a survey in the estate and the "facts are there to be seen". He said they would answer the HSE in due course and that many people in the estate felt the letter was a "PR exercise". Cllr Butler said the response was for the Trim rural electoral division which is a much larger area. Their petition had requested a study in Mornington Heights. In a bid to find out what is causing the cancer in the area, the committee has also collected money from all the people in the estate to purchase radon meters to measure levels of radon gas in the estate. Ms Kelly said they will be putting 23 meters into houses around the estate by mid-September and will have the readings three months after. Radon is formed from the normal radioactive decay of uranium in the ground. It is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, naturally occurring radioactive that is considered to be a health hazard. "We are trying to rule out things. We don't know what is causing the cancer but we are trying to find out," said Ms Kelly. For many years, Mornington residents have also been campaigning for a mast on the green area in their estate to be removed. They also want the other masts in the locality moved away from residential areas.