Our duty to take action

It seems barely credible that crematoria could - in just a few years if we do nothing about it - become a bigger source of heavy metal pollution than some industrial processes.

But that is the situation. The culprit is the mercury found in teeth fillings or - more precisely - the massive number of people who have had these particular kinds of fillings over the years.

Dentists, apparently, refer to these people - those now reaching their 40s and older - as the "heavy metal" generation.

As more of this generation die, more mercury from their fillings is finding its way into the environment.

The scale of the problem is obvious in the numbers - 1.34 tonnes in 1999, an estimated 1.55 tonnes next year and 2.20 tonnes in 2020.

That is an awful lot of a potentially harmful substance to scatter over the country.

Some will remember that it is only a decade or so since there were concerns raised over the fact that the mercury was a component of the material used in the amalgam used in teeth fillings.

Mercury is a `priority hazardous substance' under the European Commission's Water Framework Directive.

It has been linked to damage the central nervous system and heart disease.

It is already recognised as a potentially major threat to the safety of eating some species of fish and there are - worldwide - tight regulations to reduce mercury pollution.

Now, local authorities are facing large bills to ensure that the way we dispose of our dead does not add to this pollution.

This could cost up to £1m for each crematorium, but there is no alternative.

Mercury free fillings are not far away say dental experts but - but given the nature of such things - that still means mercury levels cannot be expected to start dropping for about 50 years.

We, as a society have created a potential problem and it is our duty to clean it up for future generations.

That is the nature of environmental pollution - the polluter pays to put things right.

The fact that this is a rather bizarre pollution threat does not change that fact.

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No quick fix to drink problem

If regional public health director Bill Kirkup is correct and binge drinking is costing the North-East £1bn a year, then we have a major problem.

That is a massive amount of lost money for any regional economy to absorb and includes the costs of staff missing work through illness, treatment for the effects of alcohol, and repairs to damaged property.

While it is difficult to quantify the scale of the problem financially, there is no doubt that Mr Kirkup has identified a phenomenon that is damaging to the region. What to do about it, however, is not such an easy thing to identify.

Tougher laws enabling police to close down "problem" pubs and clubs immediately sound attractive - especially if you happen to live near one - but that is unlikely to be an option which is available soon. Indeed, we fear that there are no "quick wins" available.

We can wait for the Government to introduce legislation - probably in the face of massive opposition from a powerful drinks lobby - or through the current local licensing system. Both will take time and, sadly, there is an unmistakable air of "too little, too late" about this entire issue.

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