§ Ms WalleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Health (1) what guidelines he has issued in respect of limiting levels of exposure to non-ionising radiation; and if he will make a statement; [19836]
346W(2) what representations he has received from the National Radiological Protection Board in the last five years on the standards of protection for exposure to non-ionising radiation; and if he will make a statement. [19837]
§ Mr. HoramThe National Radiological Protection Board provides advice to Government on the risks to human health from both ionising and non-ionising radiation. Non-ionising radiation includes low and high-frequency electromagnetic fields as well as solar and artificial ultraviolet radiation.
In 1993 the NRPB issued guidelines on limiting exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation—"Restrictions on Human Exposure to Static and Time Varying Electromagnetic Fields and Radiation" (documents of NRPB, Vol. 4, No. 5). The guidelines are based solely on preventing the well-established biological effects of heating and shock from acute exposure to electromagnetic fields and radiation.
Initiatives to reduce excessive exposure to ultraviolet radiation have been under way since "The Health of the Nation" White Paper in 1992. These include the Health Education Authority's "Sun Know How" campaign, a report by the NRPB's advisory group on non-ionising radiation covering health effects from ultraviolet radiation (documents of NRPB, Vol. 6, No. 2), distribution of NRPB's "Board Statement on Effects of Ultraviolet Radiation on Human Health" to all general practitioners, public health physicians and occupational health physicians, and the development of an Internet web site. Copies of the documents are in the Library.