After public and official acknowledgment in the Spanish parliament of Cadiz having the highest deaths from cancer, the ESG asks the Government of Gibraltar whether it too will release its cancer register data with the updated and thorough records as promised a few years ago.

Gibraltar is separated from Cadiz by a physical and political frontier but unfortunately environmental pollution does not respect such borders. With long held concerns over dangerous emissions from CEPSA, one of the dirtiest refineries in Europe based in Los Barrios, Cadiz just a few kilometres from Gibraltar, it is no surprise to our group to finally hear this official admission by the Spanish Government of this shocking fact regarding “deaths from cancer” statistics in the Cadiz province.

Professor Benach, a public health expert and advisor to environmental groups in the Bay, has been calling upon authorities in Spain and Gibraltar to get to grips with this unacceptable public health crisis since his studies exposed the cancer clusters in Cadiz, Huelva and Sevilla- all home to heavy, chemical industry and poor environmental management Professor Benach has long advocated the need for further transparent investigations and epidemiological studies into the possible causes of these serious health anomalies.

We hope that the Gibraltar Government gets its much promised epidemiological study underway this year and that the statement by the Spanish authorities strengthen the hand of politicians on both sides of the order, to work together on this humanitarian crisis.

Please see link to above mentioned report by Professor Benach-
http://www.esg-gib.net/hpage/database/documents/mstudy.pdf