§ Mr. Dalyellasked the Secretary of State for Defence what part has been played by the Microbiological Research 230W Establishment, Porton, in the study of air pollution.
§ Mr. MasonBoth the Porton Establishments have an interest in the effects of air pollution. The Microbiological Research Establishment is concerned with the effect of atmospheric constituents on micro-organisms; the Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment is investigating identification of normal atmospheric contaminants to obtain data for research on the detection of toxic materials in the air. The latter work is of civil as well as defence interest, and the Establishment has just completed a six months' study of the atmosphere in a typical light industrial area with the cooperation of Reading University. The preliminary results of these investigations have been published in scientific journals.