Mr. Alan W. WilliamsTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment her Department has made of whether exposure to benzene from motor exhaust fumes is a causative factor in leukaemia and lymphoma; and if she will make a statement. [17701]
§ Mr. SackvilleBenzene is known to have both carcinogenic and toxic effects, and studies of workers exposed to high concentrations of benzene—up to 100 parts per million—throughout their working life have demonstrated increased risks of leukaemia. Because benzene is a genotoxic carcinogen, no absolutely safe level of exposure can be defined. However, no adverse effect on blood formation has been confirmed in humans following regular repeated exposure to benzene in air at concentrations below 25–30 ppm.
The Department is advised on the health effects of benzene by the Committee on Carcinogenicity and the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollutants. Their views were taken into account by the joint Department of the Environment/Department of Health expert panel on air quality standards when it recommended a United Kingdom air quality standard for benzene of 5ppb as a running annual average. The urban annual average concentrations is generally at or below 5ppb; at these concentrations there is only an exceedingly small risk to health. The overall effect of policies now in place or agreed means that by the year 2000 exceedances of 5ppb standard should be virtually eliminated.