Radar Signals

France has discovered something unexpected. National biomonitoring data suggest that large parts of the French population are exposed to higher levels of cadmium than previously recognised. The source is not an industrial accident or environmental disaster. It appears to be the gradual accumulation of cadmium through everyday foods consumed over many years.

The obvious question for Ireland is whether the same pattern exists here. The answer is surprisingly simple.

We do not know.

Ireland shares some of the conditions that have prompted concern elsewhere. We import phosphate fertilisers whose cadmium content can vary. Much of Ireland's soil is naturally acidic, increasing cadmium uptake by plants. Potatoes, a staple of the Irish diet, are among the crops capable of accumulating cadmium from the soil.

None of this demonstrates that Ireland has a cadmium problem. It does suggest that Ireland has a question worth asking.

Cadmium presents a particular challenge because it accumulates slowly. If exposure becomes a public-health concern, it is likely to emerge over decades rather than years. By the time effects become obvious, significant accumulation may already have occurred. France's findings should not prompt alarm. They should prompt curiosity.

A prudent society does not wait for certainty before it begins looking. It asks whether an issue deserves attention and gathers the evidence needed to answer the question properly.

Cadmium may prove to be a minor concern in Ireland. Equally, it may prove to be something we should have started measuring sooner. At present, we simply do not know.

Further reading: My full analysis, Cadmium and the Questions Ireland Isn't Asking, is available on Marshall on Policy. https://go.marshall.ie/Cadmium-and-the-Questions-Ireland-Isnt-Asking

An absence of evidence risks being mistaken for evidence of absence.