§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the EU Scientific Committee on cosmetic products and non-food products intended for consumers is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the United Kingdom representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is688W to public funds; if he will list the items currently under its consideration; if he will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if he will make a statement. [63638]
§ Ms HewittThe EU Scientific Committee on Cosmetic Products and Non-Food Products intended for Consumers (SCCNFP) was set up to consider scientific and technical questions concerning consumer health relating to cosmetic products and non-food products intended for the consumer, especially substances used in the preparation of these products, their composition and use, as well as their types of packaging. The UK is represented on the committee by Ian White, Consultant Dermatologist at St. Thomas' Hospital, London. The SCCNFP met approximately 30 times in the last year and the European Commission funds their work. The main focus of the committee's work of late has been consideration of the use of ingredients in cosmetics particularly hair dye ingredients.
§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what the mandate of the Scientific Committee for Occupational Exposure Limits to Chemical Agents is; how many times it has met over the last 12 months; what the UK representation on it is; what the annual cost of its work is to public funds; if she will list the items currently under its consideration; if she will take steps to increase its accountability and transparency to Parliament; and if she will make a statement. [61724]
§ Mr. DarlingI have been asked to reply.
The purpose of the Scientific Committee on Occupational Exposure Limits (SCOEL) is to provide scientific advice to the European Commission (EC) to underpin regulatory proposals on exposure limits for chemicals in the work place, within the framework of the Chemical Agents Directive 98/24/EC (CAD) or the Carcinogens at Work Directive 90/394/EEC. Its mandate is to examine available information on toxicological and other relevant properties of chemical agents, evaluate the relationship between the health effects of the agents and the level of occupational exposure, and where possible recommended values for occupational exposure limits which it believes will protect workers from chemical risks.
SCOEL has met four times in the past year.
The EC invites the UK Government to nominate two members for the Committee. All SCOEL members act as independent scientific experts, not as representatives of their national Governments. The current UK nominees are a Senior Toxicologist at the Medical Research Council Institute for Environment and Health, and the head of the Industrial Chemicals Unit, Health and Safety Executive.
Travel and subsistence costs incurred by SCOEL members are met by the EC. The estimated annual costs for staff time attending meetings and preparatory work are £20,000.
There are 32 chemical substances currently under consideration by SCOEL. These are:
- acetic acid
- acrylaldehyde
- acrylonitrile
- 1,3-butadiene
- 2(2-butoxyethoxy)ethanol
689W - carbon disulphide
- chlorobenzene
- chromium, hexavalant
- cresols
- crystalline silica
- cyanamide
- cyclohexane
- diethylamine
- lead
- man-made mineral fibres
- mercury and its inorganic divalent compounds
- 2(2-methoxyethoxy)ethanol
- methyenedianiline
- naphthalene
- nickel and nickel compounds
- nitrobenzene
- nitrogen monoxide
- nonylphenol
- phenol
- picric acid
- pyridine
- pyrethrum
- sulphuric acid
- tin compounds
- vinyl chloride
- white spirit
- wood dusts.
The work of SCOEL is reported regularly to the Working Group on European Exposure Limits, a sub-committee of the Advisory Committee on Toxic Substances, which is one of the topic committees advising the Health and Safety Commission. All these committees include representatives of employers, employees, other stakeholding interests and independent experts.
The EC uses the scientific advice from SCOEL to make proposals for occupational exposure limits. Limits based solely on scientific considerations are considered as adaptations to technical progress, and are incorporated in proposals for Commission directives within the framework of CAD. Limits that take account also of socio-economic factors are included in proposals for Council directives amending CAD or the Carcinogens at Work Directive. Such proposals are referred to the two Parliamentary Scrutiny Committees.