§ Mr. Nicholas Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment what statistical information he has concerning the incidence of asbestos-related diseases in naval dockyard, shipbuilding and shiprepairing manual workers and former manual workers.
§ Mr. GummerThe available statistics for the principal asbestos-related diseases—asbestosis and mesothelioma — do not include separate figures for the groups of workers mentioned by the hon. Member. However, a geographical distribution of mesothelioma deaths recorded on the Health and Safety Executive's mesothelioma register is available and tends to confirm the generally accepted hypothesis that shipyard workers have suffered particularly high rates of this disease. The following table shows the incidence of mesothelioma related deaths between 1968 and 1978 in five counties of Great Britain with major shipbuilding installations:
Annual death rate per million for males 1968–78 County Cumbria 21.7 Tyne and Wear 21.6 Merseyside 18.4 Devon 23.4 City of Glasgow 24.4 The average rate for all other areas of the country is 7.7.
A report on the mortality of workers covered by the Executive's asbestos workers survey is nearing completion and will shortly be made available. This will include separate analysis of shipyard workers.
§ Mr. Nicholas Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will give consideration to encouraging the introduction of a scheme, similar to those agreed for bladder cancer in rubber workers and radiation cancer in the nuclear industry, in respect of workers in shipbuilding and shiprepairing industries and asbestos-related diseases.
§ Mr. GummerI would be happy to consider any proposals the hon. Member wishes to make.
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§ Mr. Nicholas Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he is taking to ensure that shipyard workers are given appropriate medical surveillance so that any asbestos-related disease can be identified at the earliest opportunity.
§ Mr. GummerThe Health and Safety Commission intends in the near future to issue a consultative document proposing new regulations for the control of asbestos at work which will extend the provisions for medical examinations included in the Asbestos (Licensing) Regulations 1983.
§ Mr. Nicholas Brownasked the Secretary of State for Employment what action he proposes to take in response to recently published work in the United States of America relating to the incidence of asbestos-linked diseases in shipyard workers and allied trades; and what assessment he has made of the applicability of its conclusions to the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. GummerThe Health and Safety Executive closely monitors the international medical and scientific literature on asbestos exposure in the course of its work. I am advised that the executive is aware of a number of
Project Location Date project started Sponsors estimate of volunteers to be attracted Volunteers attracted by 24 January 1984 Ockenden Venture Vietnamese refugee project Lozells 5 September 1983 21 51 Apex employment preparation and liaison scheme Central Birmingham 1 May 1983 1,510 506 NACRO education activity centre Handsworth 23 April 1983 115 104 East Birmingham family service unit —Small Heath toy library project Small Heath 3 May 1983 10 19 Birmingham Elfrida Rathbone volunteer project Nechells 1 September 1983 80 29 Hobmoor centre voluntary action project Small Heath 27 July 1983 125 *66 Birmingham city mission community training project Acocks Green 12 September 1983 130 74 Sutton Coldfield YMCA project Sutton Coldfield 1 September 1983 100 61 Birmingham YMCA —Perry Common interaction project Perry Common 24 October 1983 90 35 Friends of the Earth —Monyhull leisure centre project Kings Norton 19 September 1983 50 84 National Association of Boys CLubs —Keystone Challenge project Rednal 2 April 1984 70 — Birmingham Royal Institution for the Blind —Voluntary visiting scheme Central Birmingham 14 November 1983 500 19 Birmingham marriage guidance council Central Birmingham 23 January 1984 180 — * October 1983. Note: Information on the grants made to each project is not available and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.