Birth defects linked to pollution- HPA West Midlands survey

Dear Health Protection Agency,

I am writing to make an open government request for all the
information to which I am entitled under the Freedom of Information
Act and the Environmental Information Regulations.

In order to assist you with this request, I am outlining my query
as specifically as possible.

If however this request is too wide or too unclear, I would be
grateful if you could contact me as I understand that under the
act, you are required to advise and assist requesters.
According to the Yorkshire Post report "Inquiry ordered into birth
defects linked to pollution"
Published on Thursday 15 September 2005 09:03 it is stated

"The HPA, a semi-independent government-funded body, has been
investigating possible links between pollution and illness in the
West Midlands.

Dr Patrick Saunders, who runs the research programme concerned,
said: "The West Midlands pilot mapped data on potential sources of
environmental contamination and data on hospital admissions and
registrations for diseases such as lung cancer. This enabled
possible connections between clusters of disease and possible sites
of contamination to be investigated. While the system doesn't prove
a link, it does identify areas that need further detailed
investigation.

Dr Saunders said it could be that known factors cause the health
problems, but added: "You cannot rule out the possibility that
some, at least, is due to environmental exposure. There are issues
we need to investigate further - in particular, a small but
consistent link between land-fill sites and congenital
abnormalities."
Could I request the full results of this study concerning the West
Midlands refered to by the former Head of the Chemical and Hazards
poisons division and risk at the HPA, who now works at Sandwell PCT
and the subsequent areas that were identified for further detailed
investigation?

I understand that under the act, I should be entitled to a response
within 20 working days.
I would be grateful if you could confirm that you have received
this request. I look forward to hearing from you in the near
future.

Yours faithfully,

Mr Carroll