§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will meet representatives of the sanitary products industry to review urgently its manufacturing procedures;
(2) if there are any proposals to introduce specific legal standards governing the manufacture of sanitary tampons;
(3) what consumer safeguards exist to regulate the composition of sanitary protection products;
(4) what action he will take to publicise the danger to women of toxic shock syndrome when using sanitary tampons and printing such information on sanitary tampon packets.
§ Mr. ForthFour years ago the Government set up a voluntary prior approval scheme with the sanitary protection industry, under which manufacturers submit to the government any new tampon or tampons to which there have been significant changes in design or materials, and toxicologists from the Department of Health scrutinise them to decide whether they pose a health hazard. I am satisfied that this scheme is adequate to safeguard the public and I commend it as a good example of a responsible industry voluntarily looking after the interests of its customers.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster if he will introduce a code of conduct or guidelines on the sanitary protection industry with regard to problems related to the disposability of their products.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (1) if he will make it his policy to encourage manufacturers of disposable soft tissue products to change to unbleached pulp for manufacture;
163W(2) when he last met representatives of the sanitary protection industry to discuss organochlorines and dioxins remaining in the product following wood pulping and bleaching of raw materials and their health implications; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. ForthChlorine bleaching of pulp is the process which gives the whitest finished product. It produces very small amounts of dioxins in the effluent, and minute quantities—parts per billion or less may be retained in the pulp itself. There is no evidence at present that this is a hazard to consumers, but the expert Committee on Toxicity, at the Department of Health, will shortly be advising the Government on the toxicity of dioxins generally, and we shall back any action needed. Organochlorine pesticides do not occur in wood pulp.
§ Ms. RuddockTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster whether cotton fibre intended for use in tampon manufacture is guaranteed free of herbicides and pesticides applied in the country of origin.
§ Mr. ForthI have no reason to think that materials used in the manufacture of tampons are contaminated with herbicides or pesticides, but I am asking the industry to check this aspect of its supplies of imported cotton fibre.
§ Ms. WalleyTo ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster what additives are used to enhance the absorbency of sanitary towels; and what are the health implications thereof.
§ Mr. ForthI shall ask the Association of Sanitary Protection Manufacturers what chemicals are used to enhance the absorbency of sanitary towels and about their bioavailability. Toxicologists at the Department of Health will then consider whether they pose any hazard to health.