§ Mr. Alex CarlileTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what are his Department's proposals in respect of requirements relating to oestrogen levels in drinking water. [14577]
§ Mr. ClappisonI have been asked to reply.
The Department of the Environment has funded research into substances possessing oestrogenic activity in sewage effluents and their significance in water sources and drinking water supply reservoirs. This research, which has been published, showed that although oestrogenic activity could be detected in fish in sewage effluent this activity declined rapidly in water courses and could not be detected in fish kept in water abstracted for treatment as drinking water.
A recent study funded by the Environment Agency indicated that oestrogens derived from man may be responsible for the oestrogenic activity of sewage effluent. To provide further reassurance, the Department is now funding developing of highly sensitive methods for analysis of these human derived oestrogens in water sources and drinking water. The methods developed will be used to carry out further investigations of oestrogen concentrations and to quantify removal in water treatment processes.