§ Mr. Skinnerasked the Secretary of State for Employment whether he is satisfied with the proposed continued manufacture of TCDD at the Bolsover coalite plant in view of the major hazards report by the Health and Safety Commission: and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. John GrantThe Chairman of the Health and Safety Commission informs me that, while the commission welcomes the First Report of the Advisory Committee on Major Hazards, they will be considering what action should be taken on its recommendations in the light of reactions received during the next three months. It would, therefore, be premature to attempt to indicate to what extent the proposals in the report would be applicable to any particular installation, but the 2:4:5 trichlorophenol unit at Coalite and Chemical Products Ltd., Bolsover, is already receiving the kind of supervision envisaged for installations offering the highest risk.
The present position on the unit is that, following a thorough examination by Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate, the Health and Safety Executive has asked the firm to implement a number of recommendations to improve existing safety standards before resuming normal operations. When the final report of the cause of the accident at Seveso becomes available this will be studied and a further review undertaken, if found to be necessary.