A mum is demanding a probe to establish if arsenic ground contamination at her 13-year-old son's school contributed to him losing his sight.
Concerns have been raised over blue drinking water at Buchanan High in Coatbridge, in North Lanarkshire, Scotland and a number of teachers have been diagnosed with cancer.
Josie Morgan’s 13-year-old son Tommi, who has autism, is a first-year pupil at the school and has been blind since October - after suddenly developing an ulcer on his right cornea which has robbed him of his vision.
Josie said medical tests have showed Tommi has three times the normal levels of arsenic in his system and the poor youngster is "angry and frustrated" after losing his sight.
She is demanding to know more about the likelihood of ground contamination at the school, which is built on a former industrial site.
She will be meeting NHS Lanarkshire officials next week and her case has been referenced at the Scottish Parliament by constituency MSP Alex Neil.
Josie said: “Tommi’s vision was perfect before he started high school but he then took an ulcer which saw his eyesight deteriorate over the space of two weeks, and by early October he was totally blind.
“We couldn’t work out what had happened and consultants were baffled as scans were coming back normal.
“In February, I found out about what was happening with the water and made the doctors aware of it. Tommi was sent for new tests and it was found that his arsenic levels, which should be 30, were at 80.”
She added: “I believe there’s a link. Arsenic doesn’t appear in a person’s system for no reason. We need to know where it has come from and to be able to pinpoint the source of this.
“I have a meeting with public health officials next week and have spoken to a lawyer, lots of councillors, and Alex Neil, who I can’t praise enough for his backing.”
Josie told how a public meeting with officials from North Lanarkshire Council which is responsible for the school failed to shed any light on her concerns.
She said: “The officials spoke most of the time and just repeated the same things. They’re adamant the school is safe but nobody got any answers and it didn’t fill us with any confidence.
“I took the microphone and spoke about Tommi. I don’t know how I managed to do it but I told everybody what had happened to him and people were absolutely horrified.
“Now I want an independent inquiry, and everybody at the meeting was of the same opinion. We’re concerned about every child in the school and the fact that four teachers have cancer. It’s a flagship building and it’s a brilliant school – but there’s no use in it being brilliant if it’s unsafe.”
Josie says her son is a completely "different wee laddie" since losing his sight..
She said: “He had some tests three weeks ago and depending on how they come back, there’s a small chance he could be put on steroids and recover a little bit of vision, but they’re telling me it’s likely he’s not going to recover his sight.
“Tommi is angry and frustrated. He’s been taken away from school, he can’t play games, there’s nothing he can do and his mental health has suffered as he’s missing his friends, school and routine, which is important with autism.
“He’s known his school friends since they were in primary together – it took years to build relationships and he wouldn’t consider being sent to another school.”
Mirror Online has contacted North Lanarkshire Council for comment.
