§ Mr. Martyn JonesTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the health hazards associated with dioxin emissions; and if he will make a statement. [10423]
§ Mr. HoramThe expert advisory Committee on the Toxicity of Chemicals in Food, Consumer Products and the Environment has reviewed the toxicology of dioxins on a number of occasions. A tolerable daily intake for dioxins of 10 picograms per kilogram of body weight per day was set in by the committee in 1991. Following a United States Environmental Protection Agency draft report on dioxins in September 1994, COT reviewed all the available data and concluded that the new information continued to support its earlier advice and the TDI remained unchanged.
The results of the first review on dioxins were reported in "Pollution Paper No. 27: Dioxins in the Environment"—HMSO: London, 1989. Pollution papers are available in the Library.