Letters - January 16, 2017

In contradistinction to Yorkshire, the residents at Little Plumpton, Fylde, have been informed that there are no plans to monitor for the radioactive gas radon which may be released by the fracking process. This is an egregious and inexcusable omission.

Any geological differences between Yorkshire and Lancashire are irrelevant for radon monitoring at Little Plumpton. A recent 2015 Pennsylvania study concluded that domestic indoor radon concentrations were associated with fracking well development.

An important 2001 review concluded that domestic radon is probably responsible for about 2,000 lung cancer deaths per year in the United Kingdom, or around six per cent of the total, making it the second biggest cause after smoking.

It is crucial to determine whether radon levels increase with fracking, regardless of baseline. Radon monitoring at Little Plumpton may clarify whether there is any radon release caused by the drilling process, as opposed to fracking itself.

How can the requirement for fracking of the UK Environment Agency ‘to assess the radiological impact with regard to public dose constraints,’ be carried out without radon monitoring at Little Plumpton?

Dr Francis Rugman

Wrea Green

FRACKING

I will continue to 
oppose fracking

Many people, from all sections of our society, are rightly concerned about the potential effects that fracking will have on communities health and environments across the county and the country.

The arguments have been won on the evidence of the negative impacts that fracking brings.

The arguments have been won that the regulatory system in this country is nothing but a self regulatory system.

The propaganda machine has kicked in big time this last week, well prepared for the works starting at Preston New Road, to try to undermine the fact that this industry is being forced on a community that has the backing and support of the democratic system that, after spending many months considering all of the evidence, decided to refuse this application.

The only address left, for people who know so much about this industry that they just can’t walk away from what’s happening, is to show as much visible opposition as possible.

Yes, of course, there will be objectors who turn up from outside of Lancashire and who want to be part of the movement for genuine reasons understanding, as they do, that fracking is planned for huge areas across the country and in a democracy they are free to do this.

Some have their own animated ways of objecting but the majority of the opposition are peaceful, reasonable people who are just afraid.

Also, let’s face the facts here, we are talking about the oil and gas industry who will have infiltrators within the anti fracking movement whose job it is to disrupt and divide and to try to give peaceful ordinary, decent people a bad reputation.

Just 19 per cent of people back exploration for shale gas in the latest edition of the department of energy and climate change’s long running public attitudes tracker, down from a high of 29 per cent two years ago. With just 19 per cent of people backing fracking, public support for renewables has surged to 81 per cent as the government poll shows.

We don’t need or want shale gas.

I will continue to oppose this industry as I have no other option knowing what I know.

Coun Gail Hodson

West Lancashire

District Council

NHS CRISIS

Reclaim the NHS and make it great again

According to the British Red Cross, we are in the middle of a humanitarian health crisis, with the National Health Service almost at breaking point.

Back in the 1960s/70s, our NHS was the envy of the world due to a free at the point of need healthcare system. This was funded by everyone through national health insurance contributions which went directly to pay for a system of excellent healthcare for all.

This care system changed in the 1980s due to greed and money-grabbing politicians cutting the health budgets back to the bone and introducing backdoor privatisation for some services.

These funding changes led to devastating waiting lists for NHS treatment. However, the same greedy politicians could provide the same treatment privately within weeks at an extortionate cost and bypassing many months of waiting for NHS treatment.

This policy almost broke the National Health Service and left health service staff devastated and working for a pittance.

In the 1990s the Labour Party took this on board and campaigned for improvements and better conditions for our doctors and nurses.

The outcome of this campaign resulted in a landslide victory for the Labour Party in 1997, mainly due to the campaign to save our NHS.

We now find ourselves in the position of our health service being at crisis point again and getting worse.

It is now time to reclaim our NHS and make us the envy of the world once again.

Carith 
Archer

Address supplied