SCIENTISTS have completed an extensive study on environmental pollutants and their effect on the foetus ? but Government has been sitting on the results for three months.

According to sources close to the project, it is in the best interest of the community that the findings of the two-month investigation be disclosed "as quickly as possible".

They said the Department of Health was handed the results in early April, but has insisted on postponing public release while they "translate" the findings into their own recommendations.

The extensive study was conducted by the Atlantis Mobile Laboratory of Canada's Laval University with the assistance of the Bermuda Biological Station for Research (BBSR), the Bermuda Health Department, King Edward VII Memorial Hospital (KEMH), the Department of the Environment and local doctors.

Sponsored by the XL Foundation, one of the project's aims was to assess exposure of developing babies to a number of pollutants found widely in the air, the water, and in many foods ? mercury, lead, industrial chemicals and agrochemicals.

Yesterday, Government's Chief Medical Officer John Cann, did not return a call to his office. However, when contacted two weeks ago, he said that the findings would be released "soon" and that bureaucracy was the cause of the delay. "It hasn't been released," he said. "We were reviewing it and, obviously, when you have findings you like to go through them with various parties which may have some involvement before you make a general release to the public.

"That's really been the hold-up ? consultations with the groups which might have either participated in the study or been involved with it. As you might be aware, there are several different studies here (although) our real concerns would be the tank water studies that were done and of course the studies on the foetal cord blood."

The Atlantis project was conducted over a two-month period which began last October, the Bermuda Biological Station for Research acting as hosts for the mobile laboratory.

Atlantis programme organiser Dr. ?ric Dewailly conceived the project after spending a year's sabbatical at the BBSR in 1999 working on the links between ocean and human health, with BBSR director and senior research scientist Dr. Tony Knap.

Through XL sponsorship and the support of the Bermuda Container Line, the idea became reality; the companies' aid attached to the belief that the project would benefit the island in four principal ways:

1. It would evaluate the exposure levels of newly-born infants to persistent organic contaminants and to heavy metals like lead and mercury.

2. It would introduce new technologies to Government laboratories such as the faster, one-hour detection of pathogens in water by genetic strategies, to replace the longer 24 to 48 hours used by traditional microbiology culture methods.

3. It would integrate new data with existing data in a global Geographic Information System.

4. It would result in an environmental health report that would prove a useful tool for the population and Government agencies in setting priorities for action.

The BBSR detailed additional goals of the unique project in its 2003 annual report:

"A second Atlantis study involved the examination of sand scallops in Castle Harbour for signs of environmental stress and pollutants from the nearby dump," it said. "The toxicity of the sediment in the surrounding area was also evaluated.

"Scientists carried out another research project to assess the levels of contaminants and pathogens in Bermuda's drinking water and seawater. They tested water samples using classical microbiology methods, which take from 24 to 48 hours to yield results, and new molecular techniques that can provide results within a few hours and may be more efficient in detecting certain pathogens.

"This project not only served as an assessment of the quality of Bermuda's water, but also as a way to determine the potential and usefulness of the new molecular methods Atlantis is developing."

At the outset, those involved stated that most babies would have some exposure, the pollutants passed on by their mothers via the placenta and umbilical cord. Problems would only arise if the levels found proved higher than the range deemed acceptable by World Health Organisation (WHO) guidelines. A preliminary report of findings was presented to the Departments of Health and the Environment last December, with the final analysis handed to all parties in April.

Bermuda was the first stop on what was meant to be a global tour by the Laboratory ? its scientists planned to travel to coastal areas around the world, conducting research and testing in the areas of human toxicology, marine ecotoxicology and environmental microbiology to better assess threats to human and environmental health.