Turkish Medical Association Asks Health Ministry About Cancer Research Results

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The Turkish Medical Association (TTB) has asked the Ministry of Health about a cancer research, the results of which have not been declared to the public, in a statement entitled "What Happened to the Final Report of the Environmental Pollution Research Which Was Conducted by the Ministry of Health in Five Cities?".

The research was conducted by the Ministry of Health between 2011 and 2016 after environmental pollution caused by industry in Ergene Basin and Dilovası in Marmara Region was widely discussed in public.

The research was entitled "the Project on Assessment of Environmental Factors in the Provinces of Kocaeli, Antalya, Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli and Their Impacts on Health."

The results of the project were not shared with the public.

Asst. Prof. Dr. Bülent Şık, an academic and a columnist for bianet, who worked for the project in Antalya, wrote an article entitled "Why are the Results of the Cancer Research Conducted in Ergene and Dilovası not Being Shared With Public?" on April 10, 2018.

On April 15, 2018, daily Cumhuriyet announced, "The state has concealed the carcinogen products, we are making them public! Here is the poison list." Parts of data from the research were published on the newspaper for four days in a series of articles, with the byline of Bülent Şık.

On May 22, 2018, an investigation was opened against Şık. An indictment filed by the Bureau for Investigating Terror and Organized Crimes was accepted by the court. The first hearing of the case will be held on February 7. Şık is facing up to 12 years in prison.

CLICK - Lawsuit Against Bülent Şık Due to His Article Series on Cancer Research Results

"Scientists prevented from declaring the results"

TTB said in its statement that the results of the research were not made public despite the project was ended a long time ago. Underpinning that scientists who want to declare the results to the public are being prevented from doing so, TTB asked the following questions to the Ministry of Health:

"As Turkish Medical Association, we ask in the name of the public opinion;

1-In the mentioned areas, were the carcinogenic chemicals which stick to the particulate matter (PM) in air researched?

2-In the provinces where the research was conducted, how many days in a year were the air pollution values accepted by the World Health Organization exceeded?

3-In what percentage of the food samples is the limit for maximum pesticide remnants exceeded?

4-Were pesticides and their remnants detected in groundwater? Was arsenic detected in water and food produced in these areas?

5-At the end of the research, was it examined if there is carcinogenic-chemical pollution in the areas where cancer rates are high?

6-Was it examined whether the pesticides detected in food products are disruptive to hormonal system?

7-In the provinces where the study is conducted, were the changes in statistics of deaths related to cancer compared to the world average?

8-Were any measures taken in line with the information acquired from the project? If yes, what are those measures?

Consequently, we demand that the results of the project entitled "the Project on Assessment of Environmental Factors in the Provinces of Kocaeli, Antalya, Tekirdağ, Edirne, Kırklareli and Their Impacts on Health" be urgently shared with the public." (HK/VK)