§ Mr. TylerTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she expects the database of government-funded projects examining ill health and organophosphates prepared by the1028W Central Science Laboratory in York to be publicly available; and if she will make a statement on research progress relating to organophosphates. [141211]
§ Mr. Bradshaw[holding answer 4 December 2003]: The database being prepared by the Central Science Laboratory (CSL) covers the whole range research into OPs, both Government sponsored and privately funded. This database can be accessed via the CSL website (www.csl.gov.uk/ops).
Up-to-date information on the Government sponsored research into possible health effects of exposure to OP, including the findings so far, is available on the Veterinary Medicines Directorate's website (www.vmd.gov.uk). Some of this research was delayed in starting by practical problems arising from the FMD outbreak. The full results of this research are now not expected until 2006/07. These will all be peer-reviewed as a quality check before publication.
The Veterinary Products Committee, the independent, expert advisory committee on the safety of veterinary medicines, has considered all of the results available to date and has concluded that none of these justify any additional regulatory action on the current authorisations for organophosphate sheep dips.