§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will ensure that the Employment Medical Advisory Service issues guidance on the hazards of bis-chloromethyl ether and particularly the carcinogen risks associated with this chemical.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI am advised by the chairman of the Health and Safety Commission that the commission already advises industry that exposure to all toxic substances including bis-chloromethyl ether (bis-CME) should be kept as low as is reasonably practicable. In addition, the Health and Safety Executive regularly inspects the one plant in Great Britain where chloromethyl ether is produced and where workers might be exposed to bis-CME. In these circumsances, the executive does not consider it necessary to issue further guidance on the hazards of this chemical.
§ Mr. Cryerasked the Secretary of State for Employment if he will provide funding to enable the Employment Medical Advisory Service to complete the study of the carcinogenic risks of bis-chloromethyl ether started in 1971.
§ Mr. WaddingtonNo. The study to which the hon. Member refers is a mortality study of workers employed in the manufacture of bis-chloromethyl ether (bis-CME) at two factories in Great Britain, one of which has now ceased production. The study was originally established by the Employment Medical Advisory Service (EMAS) but was taken over for completion by the department of occupational health and hygiene, University of Newcastle upon Tyne, and I have been informed that sufficient funds are available for its completion. As neither EMAS nor the Health and Safety Executive now has any direct involvement with the study, it is not proposed to provide further Government funds for this purpose.