§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he has made of the incidence of occupational asbestos lung cancers and aromatic amine bladder cancers in Great Britain; and what is the source of the information upon which his estimate is based.
§ Mr. John GrantI am advised by the Health and Safety Commission that there is no reliable basis on which such estimates can be made. The Employment Medical Advisory Service is, however, carrying out surveys of the asbestos and of the rubber and cable making industries—and is discussing with the relevant employers and trade unions the setting up of a study of dyestuff users—from which it will be possible to estimate whether there is any excess incidence of cancers in these industries. Information about the incidence of asbestos-associated lung cancers will be published as soon as significant results emerge; information about bladder cancers amongst rubber and cable workers should be available next year. Hazards in both industries should have been reduced respectively by the Asbestos Regulations of 1969 and by the Carcinogenic Substances Regulations of 1967.
§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment what estimate he makes of the annual rate of occupational cancer deaths in Great Britain; and if he will instruct the Health and Safety Commission to undertake an investigation, under Section 11 of the Health and Safety at Work Act, etc., 1974, into a recent estimate that such deaths now total some 7,000 per annum.
§ Mr. John GrantI am informed by the Health and Safety Commission that there is no reliable basis on which such an estimate can be made. The problem of occupational cancer is being tackled190W by a combination of measures, including the notification to the Health and Safety Executive of the proposed introduction of new chemicals into industry, together with a report on tests carried out, and the investigation by epidemiological surveys of known or suspected carcinogens. A general investigation of the kind suggested by the hon. Member would, in the absence of more precise guidelines, be inconclusive.
§ Mrs. Bainasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what has been the level of his Department's expenditure on research into the causes and incidence of occupational cancers in each year from 1970 to the latest available date;
(2) if he will give details of the research currently being undertaken by his Department into the incidence of occupational cancers in Great Britain.
§ Mr. John GrantThe information requested is not readily available. I will write to the hon. Member as soon as possible.