§ Mr. Hooleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what level of pentachlorophenol in industrial compounds or 325W chemicals would constitute a hazard to the health of workers using them;
(2) which EEC countries have placed limits on the use of pentachlorophenol in wood preservative or other compounds in common industrial or domestic use;
(3) which public bodies are responsible for monitoring the level of dioxin compounds and toxicity in wood preservative;
(4) what level of ingestion of pentachlorophenol compounds would cause serious damage to internal organs; and what biological tests have been made of it by the Health and Safety Executive, the Pesticides Advisory Committee or other public health bodies;
(5) how many wood preservatives on sale to the public contain the dioxin pentachlorophenol; and what health warnings are given on the packaging;
(6) what limits are placed on the dioxin content of wood preservatives used in the timber and furniture trades, in particular the level of pentachlorophenol;
January 1980 February 1980 Number (thousand) Percentage rate Number (thousand) Percentage rate United Kingdom (1) … … 1,471 6.1 1,489 6.1 Austria (1) … … 91 3.2 82 2.9 Luxembourg (2) … … 1 0.8 1 0.8 New Zealand (1) … … 28 3.1 not available Sweden (3) … … 94 2.2 82 1.9 Switzerland (1) … … 11 0.4 9 0.3 The latest information available for Israel is for the second quarter of 1979. when there were 32 thousand unemployed, a rate of 2.5%(4).
Source:
SOEC Statistical Telegram for Luxembourg, ILO Bulletin of Labour Statistics for Israel, OECD Main Economic Indicators for remainder (except United Kingdom) supplemented by labour attache reports.
Note:
- (1) Numbers registered at employment offices. Rates are calculated as percentages of total employees.
- (2) Registered unemployed published by SOEC. The rates are calculated as percentages of the civilian labour force.
- (3) Estimates from labour force sample survey. The rates are calculated as percentages of total labour force.
- (4) Estimate from labour force sample survey. The rate is calculated as a percentage of the civilian labour force.