§ Mr. Johnasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what research is being conducted by his Department, or what foreign research evidence is being considered, as to the toxic effect of PCBs either singly or in combination with other chemicals.
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§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsNo research is being carried out by my Department, but work relating to the level, toxicity and distribution of these residues in wildlife are under way under the auspices of the Natural Environment Research Council and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food. Internationally there has been a great deal of research, the results of which are generally available.
The OECD is also mounting a programme to monitor a range of pollutant residues occurring either singly or in combination in wildlife. The United Kingdom is participating.
§ Mr. Johnasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what is his estimate of the amount of polychlorinated biphenyls dumped upon land in Great Britain.
§ Mr. Eldon GriffithsNo figures are available of the total quantity of these substances dumped on land in Great Britain since controls were not instituted until 1971. Surveys of background levels in the environment indicate however that these need give no cause for alarm, and that levels are now actually falling.