HC Deb 07 February 1983 vol 36 cc247-8W
Mr. Cockeram

asked the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food whether he has received a report from the Advisory Committee on Pesticides on the safety of phenoxy acid herbicides; and if he will make a statement.

Mr. Peter Walker

In May 1982, the Government invited the advisory committee to review the latest evidence on the safety of this group of herbicides, which includes 2, 4, 5-T among others. This followed publication inThe Lancet of an article suggesting a possible association between exposure to phenoxy acid herbicides, clorophenols or their contaminants and an increased risk of a rare type of cancer.

The committee's advice was received on 14 December 1982 and has now been the subject of full and careful consideration; copies are being placed in the Library of the House. In the light of the available medical and scientific evidence, the committee has advised that formulations of phenoxy acid herbicides and related wood preservatives as presently cleared under the Pesticides Safety Precautions Scheme may continue to be used. The Government accept this advice.

The committee has also made two recommendations for further research. The first is that some retrospective and prospective investigations should be made among groups exposed to phenoxy acids during their manufacture or use as herbicides, as a contribution to the work being done internationally in this area. My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Social Services is asking the Medical Research Council to follow up this recommendation. Secondly, the committee has recommended, in the light on experience in the United States of America, that the possibility of risk arising from exposure to chlorophenols and related products in factory situations should be investigated.

The Health and Safety Executive is already conducting studies on this matter, and my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Employment is asking the Health and Safety Commission to consider whether further studies are needed.

I take this opportunity, on behalf of my right hon. Friends, to thank Professor. Kilpatrick and his colleagues for the skilled and painstaking attention they have given to this sensitive subject, and to express the Government's confidence in them.