HL Deb 05 March 1970 vol 308 cc477-9
BARONESS SUMMERSKILL

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question which stands in my name on the Order Paper.

[The Question was as follows:

To ask Her Majesty's Government why, according to figures released by the Ministry of Technology, the incidence of pneumoconiosis in the South Wales coalfield is twice as high as the average for the rest of Britain's coal mines.]

THE MINISTER OF STATE, MINISTRY OF TECHNOLOGY (LORD DELACOURT-SMITH)

My Lords, although our knowledge of the aetiology of coal workers' pneumoconiosis is still incomplete, recent research suggests that the principal cause is likely to be the greater weight of the respirable dust particles in the mining environment in South Wales. A further contributory factor may have been the earlier age at which miners in South Wales traditionally began work on the coal face, which is the dustiest part of the pit. Because of the length of time taken for the disease to develop, the present prevalence reflects conditions during several past decades. A recent National Coal Board X-ray survey appears to show that between 1959 and 1968 the disease progressed more slowly in South Wales than over the country as a whole.

BARONESS SUMMERSKILL

My Lords, while thanking my noble friend for that Answer, may I ask him this further question? Are there not more stringent methods of detecting the concentration of dust? For instance, is there not now a method, as I understand there to be, of defecting the dust by weight instead of by particle? May I ask whether that method could be introduced? It would enable a man to leave the coal face at an earlier stage.

LORD DELACOURT-SMITH

My Lords, perhaps I should say that recommended limits of dustiness have always been stricter in the anthracite areas of South Wales because of the greater hazards there. As my noble friend has indicated, until now the limits have been set, both in South Wales and elsewhere, in terms of the number of respirable particles found in the air. It has been shown, as my noble friend has suggested, that the development of pneumoconiosis is more dependent on the weight of dust. From the end of this month new dust standards, based on weight, will be introduced, not only in South Wales but throughout the National Coal Board mines. This means that the standards in the anthracite areas of South Wales will become even stricter.

BARONESS SUMMERSKILL

My Lords, I thank my noble friend very much for that answer; but may I ask him just one more question? In view of the fact that the entrants into this industry here are much younger than in other parts of the country, could he assure me that the boys who are now invited to go to the coal face are of the same age as the boys in the other pits in the country? I believe that the minimum age is 17 or 18.

LORD DELACOURT-SMITH

My Lords, I am afraid that I am not in a position to give the assurance that my noble friend has asked for on this particular point. I will certainly look into it, however, and write to her on the subject. Perhaps I may say that there has of course been, and there is continuing, a great deal of research and study into this disease.