§ Mr. Ashleyasked the Secretary of State for Employment what kind of records about bladder cancer in the dyestuffs industry have been kept since 1954; if there has been any change in the practice of keeping such records; how many follow-up surveys have been made; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. GummerBladder cancer has been a prescribed industrial disease since 1953. Statistics of the numbers of people with this condition qualifying for industrial injury or disabledment benefit have been compiled from 1953 when the disease was prescribed until April 1983 when industrial injury benefit was abolished. The figures relate to all persons occupationally exposed to specified substances but do not provide separate information for the dyestuffs industry.
Following the abolition of industrial injury benefit, the Health and Safety Commission has published a consultative document setting out proposals for revised arrangements for the reporting of accidents, ill-health and dangerous occurrences at work.
A study of bladder cancer carried out by Dr. R. A. M. Case for the Association of British Chemical Manufacturers was completed in 1952, but Her Majesty's Factory Inspectorate continued to update the records of persons identified in the survey until 1960. The executive is not aware of any subsequent follow-up surveys.