§ Mr. SkinnerTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment what is the daily intake of dioxin in a human being at which Her Majesty's Government would take action to stop the source of such pollution; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. SackvilleI have been asked to reply.
The tolerable daily intake—TDI—for dioxins is 10 picograms toxic equivalents per kilogram body weight per day. This TDI was recommended by a World Health Organisation regional office for Europe expert group in 1990 and subsequently endorsed by the United Kingdom committee on the toxicity of chemicals in food, consumer products and the environment.
It is Government policy that when intakes of any contaminant are found to regularly exceed the TDI, action is taken to investigate the problem and, wherever possible, to reduce exposure to the contaminant.