§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into the carcinogenic properties of formaldehyde. [9567]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordI have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety Executive on behalf of the Health and Safety Commission reviewed the health effects and occupational exposure of formaldehyde for the purpose of setting an occupational exposure limit in 1984.
In 1993, a study carried out for HSE by the Medical Research Council toxicology unit concluded that formaldehyde was not a carcinogen.
There are no on-going research projects into the carcinogenicity of formaldehyde.
§ Mr. SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment his Department has made of the risk to human health from the inhalation of formaldehyde fumes. [9564]
§ Sir Paul BeresfordI have been asked to reply.
The Health and Safety Executive on behalf of the Health and Safety Commission reviewed the health effects and occupational exposure of formaldehyde in 1984. HSC'S advisory committee on toxic substances agreed that the inhalation of formaldehyde fumes causes severe irritation of the eyes and upper respiratory tract. However, there was no evidence that the inhalation of formaldehyde fumes causes occupational asthma and the evidence for causing nasal tumours was considered equivocal.
The Department commissioned the Medical Research Council institute for environment and health to review the available data on exposure to formaldehyde in typical UK homes and assess the likely impacts on the health of occupants. This assessment was published by the institute in May 1996; the conclusions on health effects of formaldehyde were:
- 1. The irritant effects reported in some of the US studies from the 1980s related to mobile homes and relatively high levels of formaldehyde exposure, and are not relevant to the current situation in the UK.
- 2. Chamber studies with normal adults or those with pre-existing asthma have not demonstrated any dysfunction to mean formaldehyde levels currently found in UK homes by the Building Research Establishment study (0.020–0.025 mg/m3, 0.017–0.021 ppm) or even at levels several times higher.
- 3. Epidemiological studies have not demonstrated any increase in respiratory symptoms or lung function at estimated current levels of formaldehyde in UK homes. However, there is a suggestion of an increase in asthma and chronic bronchitis among children living in homes with formaldehyde levels above 0.07 mg/m3 (0.06 ppm).
- 4. There is no evidence to suggest that current domestic exposures to formaldehyde in the UK pose a carcinogenic risk.
§ Mr. SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what statistics his Department has collated on the incidence of accidents involving the release of formaldehyde into the environment from industrial premises. [9566]
§ Mr. ClappisonI have been asked to reply.
710WThe Environment Agency regulates a number of companies which emit formaldehyde to the environment under the integrated pollution control regime. The agency's chemical release inventory, which is available for public access, provides details of formaldehyde emissions. I have placed in the House Library a copy of relevant extracts from the inventory. These show total recorded releases—in tonnes—as follows:
England Wales 1994 194.700 93.880 1995 215.200 37.230 I understand from the Environment Agency that none of the recorded releases was the result of an accident.