§ Lord HENRY CAVENDISH-BENTINCKasked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the fact that two deaths of female munition workers from T.N.T. poisoning have recently occurred; whether he has considered if they are due to the probability that the Regulations are either defective 761W or badly administered; and what steps he proposes to take in order to make the Regulations in this process really effective to safeguard the health of the workers?
§ Mr. BRACEThe Home Office has received reports with, regard to these two cases. In the case of one of the women, who was not an employé of the firm, but an examiner sent to the works on behalf of the Government, the usual precautions had, through a misunderstanding as to her position, not been carried out. In the other case, also, the doctor appointed for the factory, although a full-time officer, had not been able, owing to the amount of work to be done, to carry out the full periodical examination of the workers. Both defects have now been remedied. The question of T.N.T. poisoning is receiving the close attention of the Home Office and Ministry of Munitions, and special measures have been taken for dealing with it. Further modifications of the regulations are under consideration. The problem is a new one, and is made more difficult by the fact that the manufacturing processes are constantly being modified. The precautions which are now required, or under consideration, include all the measures which the experience so far obtained suggests, and further investigations, and experiments with new methods and appliances are being made.