§ Mr. HinchliffeTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to the answer of 28 January,Official Report, columns 309–10, what estimate is available to him of the number of deaths during the next 10 years amongst the nuclear test participants examined during the National Radiological Protection Board's inquiry; what steps have been taken and will be taken to monitor the incidence of (a) diseases other than cancer, (b) still births, (c) infertility and (d) genetic handicaps in that group; and if he will make a statement.
102W
§ Mr. SainsburyThe National Radiological Protection Board report referred to in my answer of 28 January, in column309, is the only source of information available to me on the expected mortality of participants. Taking account of the ages of the participants, the NRPB has estimated that in the 10 years from 1984
about 30 deaths could be expected from leukaemia and multiple myeloma and at least a further 20 cases in the participants and a similar number in the controls, if the men experienced the normal national mortality and cancer registration rates in England and Wales.It is also estimated that approximately a 1,000 further deaths in each group will occur
from the two diseases most closely related to smoking (lung cancer and chronic obstructive lung disease)".In line with the recommendations of the report, it is intended that the information for the 10-year follow-up study will be derived from the same sources as were used for the original study, that is, cancer registrations and mortality statistics, including dates and causes of death, contained in the National Health Service central registers.