Over the course of the project we carry out three series of exploration of the effectiveness of particiaption based around three case studies, which will cover a range of chemical and microbiological incidents with localised and wider impacts.
Please note that our research focuses on participation processes. Therefore, even if some cases are genuine, we might manipulate them for our research purpose. But we shall be careful to explain any such manipulation.
The case study explores the exposure of young children to pesticides. Research sponsored by Friends of the Earth (FOE) suggests that some pesticide residues on apples and pears exceed recommended levels. This is attributed to the way in which the level of pesticide on the fruit is measured. Standard testing takes the average residue level over an entire batch of fruit. This report suggests that the residues are not evenly distributed and some fruits have been found to be well above the batch average. Therefore the variation in pesticide residues is sufficient to cause individuals to experience occasional exposures to pesticides at levels in excess of accepted safety thresholds. Children are more at risk than adults as they consume more food relative to their body weight than adults.
In England and Wales campylobacteriosis is the most common form of illness that is called food poisoning.Typically a case of campylobacteriosis involves a bout of diarrhoea and abdominal pain but it is usually self limiting (lasting a few days). Occasionally the illness leads to complications and to serious health effects such as neurological disorders. Statistics show that approximately 23 cases in 100,000 lead to fatality. Campylobacteriosis contributes strongly to the total economic burden of infectious intestinal illness which, in the UK in 2000, was estimated by the FSA to be ~1.5 billion.
The number of cases of campylobacteriosis reported to national surveillance is approximately 45,000 annually in England and Wales. The total number of cases is uncertain but is estimated as approximately 8 times higher because most cases are unreported. Correcting for the under reporting indicates that there are ~360,000 cases of campylobacteriosis in England and Wales each year (amounting to one person in 130) and a range, 225,000 C 550,000 cases per year, quantifies the corresponding uncertainties in the estimated value.