§ Mr. Ron Daviesasked the Secretary of State for Social Services if he will provide estimates to show, for each major cause of airborne pollution, the relative health risks posed for the population at large.
§ Mr. WhitneyI am advised that the major air pollutants of concern to public health were smoke and sulphur dioxide from domestic and industrial combustion of coal and fuel oil. These used to be responsible for some acute and chronic lung disease. The implementation of the Clean Air Act 1956 has led to a substantial reduction in the concentration of these pollutants and the United Kingdom conforms with the more recent European Community directive that sets limit values designed to avoid risks to health. Studies undertaken to monitor the effectiveness of this action have found no evidence of adverse effects from current exposures.