THE EDITOR, Sir:
I WOULD like to assure Mr. Noel Mitchell, the writer of the letter "Is this some kind of a joke" published in the Sunday Gleaner of January 19, 2003, that the work at the Mona Campus of the University of the West Indies is no joke.
"Nuclear" is one of those words that seem to trigger automatic, almost unthinking responses from some people who never link the word to the many vital functions that the nuclear sciences serve.
The writer, I think, would not consider it a joke were he to need say an x-ray examination, or heaven forbid radiation therapy! Nor is it a joke to the parents and teachers of the lead-poisoned children of Kintyre whose future has been much improved by our work, and no more so to the farmers with whom we collaborate, or our medical colleagues trying to establish links between renal problems and cancers, to cite two maladies, and our environment.
I suggest that he visits us when next in Jamaica or look at our web site www.icens.org, if he wishes to learn more about a fascinating and important programme.
I am, etc.,
GERALD LALOR
Director-General
International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences
University of the West Indies, Mona
