HC Deb 27 November 1978 vol 959 c51W
Mr. Lofthouse

asked the Secretary of State for Social Services what research, if any, is taking place to ascertain whether or not pneumoconiosis is a contributory factor to emphysema.

Mr. Orme:

My Department has not commissioned any research with that specific objective, but I understand from my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Education and Science that work by the Medical Research Council, which includes long-term follow-up studies on the health of mining communities, could provide relevant information.

The possibility of a connection between these two diseases is one of the subjects of discussion and recommendation in a report entitled"Coalworkers' Pneumoconiosis, Emphysema and Bronchitis ", a copy of which I have recently received from the National Union of Mineworkers and which is being closely studied.