§ Mr. CoxTo ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what surveys his172W Department has commissioned on the amount of asbestos which is present in buildings which are still in use; and if he will make a statement. [85518]
§ Mr. RaynsfordNo such surveys have been commissioned by the Department in the last 10 years.
At the request of the Department, the Medical Research Council, Institute for Environment and Health, carried out a review of the sources and uses of asbestos in buildings, the levels of exposure in the non-workplace environment and the health effects of such exposures. The report of this work entitled "Fibrous materials in the environment" was published by the Institute on 18 November 1997. A copy is in the Library.