§ Mr. Simon HughesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research his Department has(a) commissioned and (b) published since 1979 on the subject of air pollution and human health; which studies were specifically concerned with (i) children and (ii) the elderly; which were undertaken on (x) a national, (y) a regional and (z) a local basis; which studies related specifically to (1) vehicle emissions and (2) tropospheric ozone; and what research is currently being undertaken into these areas.
§ Mr. DorrellResearch on biomedical aspects of the effects of air pollution on health lies within the remit of the Medical Research Council
The Department continues to support the social medicine and health services research unit at St. Thomas's hospital in its long-term national study of health and growth among children, in which air pollution has featured as one factor.
Further support has been given to the St. Thomas's unit during this period for regional and local studies on indoor air pollution in relation to respiratory illnesses among children. Reports of all these studies are published in the scientific literature.
The small area health statistics unit at the London school of hygiene and tropical medicine, which is jointly funded by this and other Government Departments, is investigating mortality and cancer rates in communities which may be exposed to air pollution from industrial installations.
In 1990, the Department established an independent expert advisory group to assess, on the basis of national and international research data, the impact of air pollution episodes on health. The group's advice will relate to effects on the general public, although special attention will be given to sensitive groups such as the elderly and children. The group is currently completing its assessment of the effects of tropospheric ozone, and will next consider sulphur dioxide and related pollutants. Its reports will be published.