HC Deb 27 June 1990 vol 175 c288W
Mr. John Garrett

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, further to his answer of 14 June,Official Report, column 296, if his Department has yet determined the source of the coli-aerogenes discovered in the water supply of the Norman Shaw North parliamentary building.

Mr. Chope

Since my answer of 14 June there have been further developments. The presence of coli-aerogenes was again detected in the supply, but because the chlorine level was above the minimum standard, the Parliamentary Works Office was advised that the supply did not have to be shut off. Both the system in the building and the mains have since been sterilised and the subsequent test results are good.

It is not easy to establish the source of this sort of contamination, but it seems that the problem did not orginate in the building but in the mains.