§ 43. Mr. J. Griffithsasked the Secretary for Mines whether his attention has been called to the reference to the incidence of silicosis and tuberculosis among the slate quarrymen in North Wales in the Report of the Committee of Inquiry into the Anti-Tuberculosis Service in Wales; and whether he can make a statement indicating what steps are being taken to deal with the problem?
§ Mr. GrimstonI have been asked to reply. As was stated by my hon. Friend the Under-Secretary for the Home Department in reply to the hon. Member on 15th December last, an expert medical inquiry has revealed no evidence of silicosis among slate workers in open quarries. My right hon. and gallant Friend informs me that about a year ago his attention was called by the chairman of the committee to statements which had been made 1882 about. conditions in the slate mines. Special investigations were at once undertaken, and as a result considerable improvements in the methods of dust suppression have been effected. The matter continues to have the close attention of His Majesty's Inspectors of Mines.