The Environmental Safety Group wish to advise that a petition from la Plataforma por el Estudio Epidemiologico addressed to La Comision Mixta – of which Gibraltar forms an integral part – and La Junta de Andalucia will be launched tomorrow, Saturday, in Gibraltar, as well as in San Roque and Algeciras. One of the Plataforma Members, La Comision de Obreras, will also be circulating this petition among all the large industries in the Bay.

The petition calls on La Comision Mixta and La Junta de Andalucia to fund and undertake parallel, fully independent, epidemiological studies in Gibraltar and the Spanish towns in the Bay. The Government of Gibraltar is in favour of such studies.

The purpose of this would be to establish how environmental factors could be affecting people’s health given the wide view that higher rates of cancers and other health disorders exist in this area. The Atlas de Mortalidad produced by Professor Benach indicates the higher risk of a shorter life expectancy in Cadiz, Sevilla and Huelva. The ESG considers that due to Gibraltar’s close proximity to the large petrochemical industries that we could also be at risk and that therefore parallel studies should be done on our population too.

The ESG will be at the ICC tomorrow, Saturday, between 10.30am and 1.00pm as a first public opportunity to sign this petition and urges everyone concerned about health and environment issues to please come and sign.

This is another step in the groups’ overall campaign to reduce pollution wherever possible and promote a healthier and safer environment.