§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment what studies have been undertaken into the possibility that pentachlorophenol, used in dry rot and woodworm treatment, causes cancer.
§ Mr. WaddingtonStudies have been carried out in Sweden and the United States to investigate a possible association between exposure to pentachlorophenol and certain types of cancer.
Animal studies have also been conducted into the carcinogenic potential of pentachlorophenol and its contaminants and I understand that the Health and Safety Executive will be considering the most recent of these when full results are available.
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§ Mrs. Renée Shortasked the Secretary of State for Employment for what applications pentachlorophenol is used in the United Kingdom.
§ Mr. WaddingtonI understand that one of the major uses of pentachlorophenol in the United Kingdom is as a pesticide for wood preservation and for the treatment of masonry to inhibit undesirable biological growths such as algae, fungi and moss. It is also used as a textile preservative, as a fungicide in surface coatings and adhesives and as a slimicide in the paper and board industry.