Rockbarton residents allege 'increased cancer risk' from planned Pearse Stadium floodlights
Published on Thu 22 May 2008
By Kernan Andrews, Galway Advertiser
7 Bright glaring floodlights around Pearse Stadium will cause sleep disturbance but may also lead to the developments of cancers as lighting has a direct effect on body rhythms and hormone production.
This is the view of Noel Molloy of the Rockbarton Road and Rockbarton Green Residents association, who has criticised the Galway County Board for applying for the erection of floodlighting in Pearse Stadium.
The original application was withdrawn but this new proposal is understood to have reduced the height of the masts and the intensity of the lights.
"It is amazing they can make these changes in view of their earlier insistence that the height and intensity was absolutely necessary to control the spill of light and to be bright enough for television," Mr Molloy said. "At 130 feet or about 14 storeys high, they still will not exactly blend in with the surroundings."
He accused the GAA of having "still failed to offer any solutions to the numerous problems the proposal would cause". He went on to claim that recent reports on studies on the affect of lighting at night time has been shown to lead to on high blood pressure, depression, and a number of cancers, particularly breast cancer.
According to Mr Molloy the body's internal rhythms such as the sleep/waking cycle, ebb and flow of hormones, the rise and fall of body temperature, etc is monitored and directed by the brain's master clock, the suprachiasmatic nucleus, the SCN.
When wavelengths of light hit the photoreceptors in the back of the eye, signals are sent to the SCN," says Mr Molloy. "The SCN resets itself daily by tracking the strength of the signals. Weaker ones at night, when it is dark, trigger the release of melatonin from the Pineal gland in the brain.
"Melatonin slows body functions and lowers blood pressure and so lowers body temperature. A strong light signal during the day reverses the process; other hormones are released, raising blood pressure and core body temperature, as melatonin production declines.
Mr Molloy points out that cells throughout the body, including cancer cells, have melatonin receptors. When melatonin makes its nightly rounds, cell division slows, putting cancer cells to sleep. When the melatonin disappears the cancer cells "wake up again".
"Two hours of bright light can knock down melatonin to daytime levels," Mr Molloy said. "Short light wavelengths, such as those at the blue end of the spectrum, found in fluorescent and halogen lights, suppress melatonin the most. Guess what type are proposed for Pearse Stadium?"
"The more intense the night-time light, the stronger it suppresses the melatonin synthesis. Some people are more sensitive to night-time illumination's action than others, for example, women are generally more sensitive than men."
Mr Molloy believes this explains why people who work night shifts are more likely to suffer from breast, large intestine, or rectal cancers, why cancer is most prevalent in industrialised regions of the world. He also said that irregular light can cause sleep disturbance, gastronomical and cardiovascular diseases, metabolic derangements and, possibly increase the likelihood of developing diabetes.
"In regard to this particular application for floodlights in Pearse Stadium, where they want to put the lights within a few metres of the neighbouring houses, it should be borne in mind that young children will normally go to bed earlier than most adults."
Green Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin is calling for proper consultation to take place between the local residents and the GAA over the floodlights.
"Pearse Stadium is located in a well established residential area. As such, it is vital that a good relationship builds up between the local community and those managing the stadium," he said. "At present, the residents are unhappy with the level of consultation they have had with the GAA."
Cllr Ó Brolcháin said most residents and business people in the Salthill area are proud "to host inter-county matches in their area" but the issue of parking and access to peoples homes when matches are taking place cannot be ignored.
"It is important a culture of mutual respect builds up," he said. "I believe that it is time for formal lines of communication to be drawn up between those involved in the Stadium and the local residents."
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