21 89. The Government acknowledges that despite the methodological difficulties associated with epidemiological studies and the caution with which their findings should be used (see § 49), their value is undeniable. It has therefore helped to finance several such studies and commissioned the ones conducted by professors Kondakis and Koutsogiannopoulos (see § 51). These studies were presented to the public in Kozani in 1998. The Government says that further studies are planned or under way. In particular an epidemiological study of the population of Megalopolis is scheduled and will be carried out by the Greek health and safety institute, in conjunction with the Democritos University of Thrace, and another is being conducted in Florina by the University of Thessaloniki. However, it acknowledges that no epidemiological studies of morbidity have been carried out in areas near lignite power plants. 90. The Government denies the MFHR's allegations that those concerned were not granted or were refused access to information and data about the environment. It replies, point by point, to the issues raised by the Megalopolis citizens' movement in 2004 with the Arkadia prefecture and maintains that the municipalities and their inhabitants had full access to air quality monitoring data. 91. Finally, the Government states that it is drawing up health promotion strategies for children of school age and that the health and environmental education officers' network runs health and environmental education courses in primary and secondary schools. For example, in 2004-2005 116 such courses were organised in primary and secondary schools in Arkadia prefecture and 103 in Kozani. Working and employment conditions in the lignite mines The alleged violation of Articles 3§§1 and 2: A – The complainant organisation 92. The MFHR maintains that in violation of Article 3§1 Greece has failed “to issue safety and health regulations”. 93. The MFHR maintains that there is a significant gap in the mines and quarries regulation because it imposes no specific requirement to screen for, identify, notify or pay compensation to persons suffering from occupational diseases. This situation has to be seen in the more general context of the fact that compensation procedures are the same whether or not the origin of an illness or disease is occupational. The MFHR claims that there is no body of legislation and regulations under which persons affected by occupational diseases can be identified, quantified and awarded compensation. It argues that the Government has itself acknowledged this general gap in its legislation under the reporting system (17th Greek report, p. 27). 94. The MFHR criticises Act 1568/1985, under which workplaces with more than 50 employees are only required to employ one occupational physician, irrespective of the size of their workforce. This allows firms operating large single sites, such as lignite mines, which each employ over a thousand persons, to satisfy the health and safety regulations while only employing one occupational physician. In the specific case of the DEH (public power corporation) mines, the MFHR considers that 7 occupational physicians for 7000 employees is manifestly inadequate, particularly in