HC Deb 28 April 1980 vol 983 cc324-5W
Mr. Hooley

asked the Secretary of State for Employment (1) what level of pentachlorophenol in industrial compounds or 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. (1) Numbers registered at employment offices. Rates are calculated as percentages of total employees.
  2. (2) Registered unemployed published by SOEC. The rates are calculated as percentages of the civilian labour force.
  3. (3) Estimates from labour force sample survey. The rates are calculated as percentages of total labour force.
  4. (4) Estimate from labour force sample survey. The rate is calculated as a percentage of the civilian labour force.

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