§ Mr. Kilroy-Silkasked the Secretary of State for the Environment what information he has as to the nature of the research done in the United States of America which indicates that species diversity may be affected by the tributyl tin from anti-fouling paint; and if he will place a copy of the relevant papers in the Library.
§ Mr. WaldegraveI understand, from informal discussions at official level, that studies on behalf of the US Navy Department have been carried out on natural populations of marine organisms exposed to low levels of organotin compounds in large sea water enclosures; and that a selective loss of species occurred, indicating that one effect in the environment is likely to be a loss of species diversity. No papers are available but a report may be published soon and, if so, I shall arrange for a copy to be placed in the Library of the House.