The Ministry of Health dismisses any connection between dust from quarries and lung cancer

The Ministry of Environment conducted a recent study which shows that particles that may pose risk factor are within 50% of what the law allows.

In a letter sent to the council the Ministry of Health dismisses any connection between dust from quarries or the environmental and lung cancer. That letter refers to a  plenary session on May 8, 2008, during  which the city council requested a study of the incidence of lung cancer in Alhaurin de la Torre, based on the data contained in a publication of the Carlos III Health Institute, National Centre for Epidemiology ( "Atlas of cancer mortality in Spain 1989-1998).

The report, signed by two medical specialists from the Department of Health, emphasises that the Atlas "registers the rate of mortality not incidence of" considering the impact as new diagnoses in a period of time and data-according to the Atlas – they are accumulated over the past ten years and therefore, only explain current incidents of the disease, specifying that if there is mortality "it is a consequence of exposure to risk factors of the past."

Secondly it argues also that the "Atlas includes tumors in different locations within the respiratory system that are associated with a larger group of risk factors and that with  morphological different groups of cancer the risk factors, prognosis and mortality are different ".

It is more decisive in terms of environmental causes and textually indicates that, "we have no reasons to suspect that environmental risk factors that may cause cancer are any different for the town of Alhaurín de la Torre than any other municipality in the province of Malaga. As reflected in the Atlas, there are municipalities with similar mortality rate from lung cancer but that differ in important geographical area and population characteristics." "it is important to note that there is no increase in the usual number of cancer cases in any population of Malaga, including Alhaurin de la Torre, according to information available from health services and hospital records."

The Ministry of Environment was asked, to undertake a study on air quality in Alhaurin de la Torre. These tests conducted by EGMASA between April 24 and May 8, ruled that the PM10 particles, which according to some studies is a risk factor for lung cancer-are in Alhaurin de la Torre but within the 50% cap allowed by law and concluded the risk was low.