HC Deb 11 May 2001 vol 368 cc385-6W
Mr. Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what research has been carried out by the Health and Safety Executive into the long-term health effects and hazards presented by medium-density fibreboard; and if he will make a statement. [161051]

Mr. Meacher

In 1997 the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook a review of all available scientific evidence about the possible ill-health effects arising from exposure to medium-density fibreboard (MDF) dust.

HSE's review and research concluded that the health hazards associated with exposures arising from working with MDF are similar to those associated with working with natural wood (e.g. softwood and hardwood).

Under the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health (COSHH) Regulations 1999, there are duties on employers to control exposures to substances which may be hazardous to health. Under these regulations formaldehyde, hardwood dusts and softwood dusts (the usual constituent parts of MDF) are subject to maximum exposure limits (MELs). These are limits on the airborne concentrations of substances in the workplace, measured over specific reference time periods. There is a duty to control exposure to substances with a MEL to a level as low as is reasonably practicable, and in any case below the value of the MEL. This duty does not stop once the MEL level has been achieved but continues until all that is reasonably practicable has been done.

Mr. Mackinlay

To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what information the Health and Safety Executive has collated from(a) European Union countries and (b) North America on (i) the rules governing the use of medium-density fibreboard and (ii) research undertaken into respiratory and other hazards presented by its use; and if he will make a statement. [161052]

Mr. Meacher

In many European Union (EU) countries and the USA, the rules applying to use of medium-density fibreboard (MDF) at work are similar[...]n principle to those applied in Great Britain. Adequate control of exposure through inhalation of dust or fume is assessed by compliance with occupational exposure limits for wood dust and formaldehyde. There is some variation in the scope of the limits (i.e. which types of wood are covered), the numerical values, and the detailed nature of the duties on employers associated with inhalation control.

The Health and Safety Executive is not aware of any research in EU or North American countries into the health hazards presented by use of MDF.