§ Mr. MichaelTo ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department when his Department and the Department of the Environment will produce a guidance 299W document on the use of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) based and composite buildings products both under construction and in existence; what representations on the potential dangers to the public and firefighters of this substance have been made by the joint fire prevention committee of the Central Fire Brigades Advisory Council over the last three years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Charles Wardle[holding answer 9 June 1993]: The research to establish whether there are potential additional hazards to firefighters and the general public from fires involving structures roofed with PTFE-based materials concluded that in the event of a fire the probability of any additional threat would be minimal. Guidance for fire brigades on the use of such materials in buildings will be issued shortly by my Department and we understand that guidance for building control officers will be published in the autumn by the building research establishment.
Progress of the research project and on the preparation of guidance notes has been reported at meetings of the joint fire prevention committee on 2 October 1990, when the interim conclusions of the research were available, 15 October 1991, 7 April 1992 and 6 October 1992. The final results were made available to the committee on 23 March 1993.