§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what assessment he has made of the analysis inThe Lancet of 8 August 1998 concerning the risk of congenital anomalies near hazardous waste landfill sites in Europe, including the United Kingdom. [63903]
§ Mr. MealeThe Government would be most concerned if a casual link was established between congenital anomalies and hazardous waste landfill sites. The study reported inThe Lancet did not establish cause and effect, but concluded that there was a need for further study. The commentary in The Lancet on the study pointed out that the lack of adequate exposure information made the present results difficult to interpret.
My Department has nevertheless been looking at the results of the study very carefully with the Department of Health and the Environment Agency. The Small Area Health Statistics Unit (SAHSU) at Imperial College has been commissioned by the Government to carry out a substantial survey of health effects around landfill sites, including congenital malformations. This work will take at least two years to complete. In addition, my Department and the Department of Health have asked the Institute for Environment and Health (IEH) to arrange a one-day meeting of invited experts to discuss The Lancet report, to identify gaps in the knowledge base and to explore priorities for future Government research. We anticipate that a range of expertise will be represented at the meeting including environmental epidemiology, reproductive toxicology, landfill technology and exposure assessment.