§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what assessment she has made of the Committee on Medical Effects' report into the health threat posed by PM10 particulates in the air;
(2) what is her estimate of the annual number of deaths caused by PM 10 particulates;
(3) what assessment she has made of the link between (a) cardiovascular and (b) respiratory disease and levels of PM10 particulates in the air;
(4) what assessment she has made of the link between respiratory disease and particulates of less than 2.5 micrometres across.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution has not yet reported on the adverse health effects of PM10 particulates in the air. In 1992, the Advisory Group on the Medical Aspects of Air Pollution Episodes concluded that particulate levels were low and not thought to pose a significant threat to health. They stated that this conclusion was tentative and noted gaps in the available information.
COMEAP has since stated that there appears to be sufficient evidence from recent studies in a number of countries to give cause for concern about the possible effects of current levels of fine particles upon health. This is a complex area and it is not yet clear what role changes in low levels of particles play vis-a-vis changes in levels of other pollutants and temperature and humidity in causing the changes in indices of mortality recorded in a number of studies. Despite these difficulties, reductions in levels of fine particles should be welcomed.
In response to a request from the Department for definitive advice on this issue COMEAP has set up a sub-group on particles to assess the latest evidence on the health effects of all particulate matter and advise on needs for further research.
Deaths are not recorded as caused by exposure to particulate matter. The sub-group examining the assumptions underlying the published calculations of mortality and will advise the Department as to whether an estimate of deaths due to particulates can be determined.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the health benefits of a limit on acceptable levels of PM10 particulates in the air.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department is advised by the Committee on Medical Effects of Air Pollution, which have set up a particulates sub-group specifically to advise on the health effects of particulate matter. Additionally, the Expert Panel on Air Quality Standards makes recommendations on these to my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for the Environment. EPAQS and the Department of the Environment are considering a standard for particles.
Some members of COMEAP also serve on EPAQS and the professional staff from the Department are members of the secretariat.
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§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment she has made of the link between asthma and PM10 particulates in the air.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Advisory Group on the Medical Aspects of Air Pollution Episodes reported in 1992 that suspended particulate matter contains acidic components which, in laboratory studies, have produced inconsistent changes in indices of lung function in asthmatic subjects. The Department has asked for further advice from the Committee on the Medical Effects of Air Pollution and they have set up a sub-group to assess the relationship between asthma and all air pollutants.
§ Mr. FlynnTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what evidence she has of a correlation between high levels of PM10 particulates in the air and hospital admissions.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe Department is funding a study into the health effects of the London air pollution episode in December 1991. This study will relate hospital admissions to levels of air pollutants. A study conducted in Birmingham of the period 1988 to 1990 and published earlier this year has shown that levels of particulates measured as British standard black smoke are a significant predictor of hospital admissions for asthma and all other acute respiratory disorders.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what expansion there has been in the facilities during the last three years at the Doncaster royal infirmary and Mexborough Montagu hospital trust for treating children with brain tumours and other cancers.
§ Mr. SackvilleThe hon. Member may wish to contact the chairman, Mr. C. Bryant, for details.
§ Mr. RedmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what research has been undertaken by(a) her Department, (b) Trent regional health authority and (c) Doncaster health authority into the incidence of brain tumours or the incidence of cancers within the Trent regional health authority and Doncaster health authority areas.
§ Dr. MawhinneyRegional cancer registries are the major source of information on cancer incidence rates. The Department funds the Office of Population Censuses and Surveys to produce data on national incidence rates, but does not fund analysis of this data on a regional basis. The Department also funds the Childhood Cancer Research Group at the University of Oxford through which research is carried out into childhood cancers of all kinds. This research is largely carried out on a national basis and provides data on national incidence rates of childhood cancers.
Analysis of cancer incidence rates at a regional or district health authority level can be carried out by the Regional Cancer Registry, if requested by regional or district health authorities. Last year, the director of public
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Number of dentists who have deregistered patients and number of patients deregistered 3 July to 4 March 1994, by regional health authority area Region Number of dentists deregistering adult patients1 Number of adult patients deregistered Number of dentists deregistering child patients1 Number of child patients deregistered Northern 51 19,519 14 256 Yorkshire 218 31,476 27 276 Trent 153 38,658 19 48 East Anglia 113 41,235 9 114 North West Thames 101 17,057 6 65 health for the Doncaster health authority obtained data from the Trent Regional Cancer Registry about the occurrence of brain tumours, both in the Doncaster district and in the Trent region, for the period 1982–88. These data showed that the rate of ocurrence of brain turnouts in Doncaster is consistent with the rates in Trent and in England and Wales, since 1982.