§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) how many children under the age of five years have died since 1965 after swallowing weed killer known as paraquat;
Aged under 5 years Aged 5–14 years Aged over 15 years Total persons all ages Male Female Male Female Male Female 1965 … … … — — — — — — — 1966 … … … — — — — — 1 1 1967 … … … — — — — — — — 1968 … … … — — — 1 1 2 4 1969 … … … — 1 — — 8 2 11 1970 … … … — — — — 2 1 3 1971 … … … — 1 — — 8 2 11 1972 … … … 1 — — — 10 3 14 Total … … 1 2 — 1 29 11 44
§ Mr. Greville Jannerasked the Secretary of State for Social Services whether he will cause an inquiry to be carried out into the dangerous effects of paraquat upon human beings.
§ Sir K. JosephNo. The effects of paraquat on human beings are already well known. The Advisory Committee on Pesticides and Other Toxic Chemicals has taken the dangers fully into account when advising the Government that the substance should be cleared under the Pesticides Safety Precautions Scheme, and there should be no risk if it is used and kept as recommended.