§ Mr. ThurnhamTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment if he will take steps to ensure that immediate measures are taken to eliminate pollution of water by aluminium; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. MoynihanMost water supplies already comply with the aluminium standard set in the EC drinking water directive. Action is being taken by water undertakers to ensure that all remaining supplies comply.
Current concentrations in these supplies are not considered to be a health risk. The directive standard was set in relation to the appearance of water; it was not set on health grounds.
Research into possible health risks from aluminium in water is kept under review by the Government's medical advisers, who are in contact with researchers, including the University of Southampton which is carrying out a study on aluminium in drinking water and Alzheimer's disease. When the full report on this study is available, probably later this year, it will be assessed by medical experts. In the meantime, medical advisers consider that too much weight should not be placed on the results on any single study.
Aluminium salts are widely used in the United Kingdom and many other countries as coagulants in water treatment to remove contamination by undesirable suspended matter. Aluminium can also occur naturally in some raw waters.
There are a number of alternative theories about the cause of Alzheimer's disease, of which a possible link with aluminium is only one. Over 90 per cent. of the daily intake of aluminium comes from food even when the water contains the maximum concentration allowed by the EC drinking water directive. Other evidence and scientific considerations also weigh against the suggestion that aluminium derived from drinking water is likely to be a cause of Alzheimer's disease.