§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what updated information has been received from pesticide companies by the National Poisons Information Service for their pesticide product database since 31 March 1998; what toxicological details it contained; and if he will publish the information. [184450]
§ Miss Melanie JohnsonThe National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) requests and receives several thousand safety data sheets annually from pesticide companies. These data sheets are circulated monthly to all NPIS centres as the pesticide product database. The pesticide product database contains only safety data sheets, which are in the public domain. The NPIS Birmingham centre regularly requests from companies additional and detailed toxicological information on specific formulations, some of which is commercially sensitive.