§ 13. Dr. Strossasked the Minister of Labour whether his attention has been drawn to the very high incidence of pre-cancerous warts among furnace room workers and fitters who are engaged in alumina reduction, where the Soedeberg furnace is in use; and what steps are being taken to protect the men exposed to these risks.
§ Sir W. MoncktonI understand that a considerable number of such workers have warts but that there is no evidence that they were pre-cancerous. The main kinds of measures taken are special ventilation and other precautions to reduce exposure to dust and fumes and to reduce temperature in furnace rooms, coupled with special attention to the provision of washing accommodation and changing rooms. There are also arrangements for medical supervision, and the problem has been closely studied by the medical branch of 544 the factory department in collaboration with doctors associated with the firms concerned, the Department of Health for Scotland and the Royal Cancer Hospital, Glasgow.
§ Dr. StrossIf the Minister states that he has been informed that these warts are not pre-cancerous, will he accept my statement that recent work done by the medical officer in charge of one of these factories has suggested that they certainly are? If he is satisfied that that might well be the case, will he accept from me that the fact that the warts appear so quickly on the skin of the worker and are pre-cancerous might well suggest that the inhalation of such dangerous materials into the lungs might later cause rapid and widespread outbreaks of carcinoma of the lungs and bronchi; and will he consider advising a radical change in this industrial technique?
§ Sir W. MoncktonIf the hon. Gentleman will bring to my notice the report of which he speaks, I will have it considered by the Department.