§ 29. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Minister of Labour what progress he is making with the introduction of Carcinogenic Substances Regulations which will minimise the risks to workers in the rubber and allied industries of contracting bladder and other cancers.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe statutory draft of the Carcinogenic Substances Regulations is now with the printer, and I expect it to be published on or about 21st December.
§ Mrs. ButlerIs my hon. Friend aware that these Regulations have been in 18 draft for more than two years, during which time carcinogenic substances have continued to be used, including the Antu rat killer containing 1 per cent. of naphthylamine, which has only just been withdrawn but which would have been covered by these Regulations had they been issued earlier? Have we an assurance that we shall have the Regulations within the next few weeks?
§ Mrs. WilliamsYes, Sir, I assure my hon. Friend that we shall. One of the difficulties has been that this type of legislation is unprecendented and, therefore, the pioneering work on it has been rather slow.
§ 30. Mrs. Joyce Butlerasked the Minister of Labour how many rubber workers have now been contacted for cancer screening out of the total number at risk; what proportion of the total this is; and how many have reported for screening.
§ Mrs. Shirley WilliamsThe precise number who may at some time have been at risk is not known, but the total is thought to be between 60,000 and 70,000. About 43,000 have been contacted, and about 17,000 are known to have been screened.