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How many bad news must the BN Government receive,
before it decided to stop building the incineration monster in Broga?
Media Statement
by Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew
(Petaling Jaya,
Friday):
In a news article entitled "Cancer-causing dioxin in
cattle continues to trouble Italian south" released by AFP on July 8,2003 in
Naples, it was reported that the police had seized hundreds of head of
cattle from farms in the southern region of Naples after tests showed
abnormally high levels of deadly dioxin in both the animals and the soil.
Officers from the Italian police sanitation unit took away
700 animals from seven different herds in the region,
which is known for its production of milk products including the popular
buffalo mozzarella cheese, a court source said.
The seizures bring the total number of animals removed from
farms to 10,000 since March in an on-going
investigation into dioxin levels in the region.
Tests carried out by the nationally recognised preventive
disease organisation, the Terramo Institute, have
showed that levels of dioxin in the milk, fodder, grass and soils in the
area were all above European norms. In all, more than 20 herds of buffaloes,
cows and sheep have been identified in the probe.
Dioxin can be produced during the incineration of waste and
has adverse effects on the long-term health of humans:
the World Health Organisation has classified dioxin as a product that causes
cancer.
Further tests are being carried out by the Italian
authorities to try to ascertain the extent of the
contamination and where it could have originated. Investigators have turned
their attention to an illegal plastic incineration plant near the polluted
land.
The management and recycling of waste in the Naples region
has long been a Favourite activity of the local mafia,
known as the Camorra.
Housewives in Malaysia should remember that about five years
ago, the Ministry of Health had ordered many European and Japanese brands of
milk powder to be taken down from the shelves immediately because these
products were said to have been contaminated with dioxin.
Dioxin is also widely believed as the main culprit of mad cow
disease.
So, how many bad news must the Malaysian Cabinet must
received, before it decided to put a stop to the incinerator project?
(11/7/2003)
* Ronnie Liu Tian Khiew, DAP national publicity secretary
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http://dapmalaysia.org