§ Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will evaluate the recent study on the effects of radiation from VDUs at the offices of Southampton and South West Hampshire Health Authority; and if he will make a statement. [91923]
§ Ms JowellThis recent study claims to show that office staff who use visual display units (VDUs) experience various adverse health reactions which can be relieved by a device fitted to the VDU screen.
The Government obtain advice from the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB) on risks to health from exposure to electromagnetic fields. NRPB' s Advisory Group on Non-ionising Radiation evaluated in detail the health effects of working with VDUs and published a report in 1994 "Health Effects Related to the Use of Visual Display Units" (Documents of the NRPB Volume 5, No2—copies of which are available in the Library). The Advisory Group concluded that exposure to radiation resulting from the use of VDUs causes no significant health effects. In responding to this recent study NRPB have commented that since the publication of their 1994 report, no research published in peer reviewed journals has led to a change to this conclusion.
§ Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health if, in its assessment of radiation, the National Radiological Protection Board takes account of non-thermal effects; and if he will make a statement. [91919]
§ Ms JowellI have been advised by the National Radiological Protection Board that there is a consensus among national and international expert bodies that standards for protection of people from electromagnetic fields (EMF) should be based upon sound scientific evidence of established effects on human health. This is also the view of NRPB. For low frequencies, standards are set to prevent effects on the central nervous system and to avoid shocks. For higher frequencies they are set to prevent damage due to heating of body tissues. Concerns about other, so-called athermal effects arising from exposure to EMFs have also been raised. These include suggestions of subtle effects on cells that could affect cancer development or of influences on electrically excitable tissue that could influence the function of the brain and nervous tissue.
While mindful, therefore, that some scientific data challenge the conventional assumptions upon which protection standards are based, NRPB has concluded that biological interactions resulting from such effects are neither well defined nor understood. Additionally, there is no convincing biological evidence that electromagnetic fields could cause cancer or other athermal effects. The basis for its recommendations is therefore established biological effects.
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§ Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what reports he has received of research by the USA National Institute of Environmental Health Systems into the effect of extremely low-frequency radiation; and if he will make a statement. [91921]
§ Ms JowellThe Department has been advised that the National Radiological Protection Board is aware of a report published by the US National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) on 15 June 1999. The Report to Congress on the US EMF (Electromagnetic Field) Research and Public Information Dissemination Programme indicates that
the NIEHS believes that the probability that EMF is truly a health hazard is currently small. The weak epidemiological associations and lack of laboratory support for these associations provide only marginal scientific support that exposure to this agent causes any degree of harm".
§ Mr. TredinnickTo ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to conduct research into the emissions from mobile phones and VDUs of extremely low-frequency radiation; and if he will make a statement. [91922]
§ Ms JowellResearch into potential effects of microwaves, such as those emitted by mobile phones, is being undertaken on a worldwide basis. The Department is contributing to these international initiatives and is also supporting its own research. A programme of research and exposure assessment is being carried out at the National Radiological Protection Board (NRPB). The NRPB has recently been asked to set up a working group to assess the current state of research into the use of mobile phones. The Chairman, Sir William Stewart has been appointed and the membership and terms of references will be announced shortly.
The NRPB also keeps the safety of Visual Display Units under review. It has concluded that exposure to radiation resulting from the use of VDUs causes no significant adverse health effects.