§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated into health problems (i) caused by chemical allergies and (ii) associated with the use of fire-retardant chemicals. [74959]
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§ Ms JowellThe Department's policy research programme and the National Health Service research and development programmes are supporting a range of research on allergies and will continue to do so. Details of these projects can be found on the National Research Register, a copy of which is available in the Library on CD-Rom. The Department undertakes reviews of the health hazards of a wide range of specific chemicals and data on the potential allergenicity of a chemical would be evaluated as part of the review.
During the inquiry by the Expert Group to Investigate Cot Death Theories (Toxic Gas Hypothesis), the Department commissioned research to a total cost of about £ 400,000 to investigate the hypothesis that antimony—or phosphorus—containing compounds used as fire retardants in PVC and other cot mattresses are a cause of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. The Expert Group concluded in its Final Report, published in May 1998, that there was no reason to believe that chemicals used as fire retardants in cot mattress materials pose any health risk to infants.
§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) how many people have died in each of the last five years as a result of(a) a chemical allergy and (b) an allergic reaction to fire-retardant chemicals; [74955]
(2) what estimate he has made of the number of people who have (a) a chemical allergy and (b) an allergic reaction to fire-retardant chemicals. [74957]
§ Mr. CotterTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the annual cost to the NHS of treating chemical allergies. [74958]
§ Ms JowellInformation is not available centrally on the costs to the National Health Service of individual medical conditions.