§ Mr. Laurence RobertsonTo ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the number of people whose health has been affected in the last five years by being exposed in the open air to pesticides; and if she will make a statement. [161102]
§ Alun MichaelComplaints alleging ill health effects resulting from exposure to pesticides are routinely investigated by Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Inspectors. HSE's Pesticides Incidents Appraisal Panel (PIAP) considers the reports of investigations, with the aim of providing an overview of ill health attributed to pesticide exposure so that new issues and trends can be identified, and to inform the pesticides approval process.
HSE publishes an annual Pesticide Incidents Report, which contains information on investigated incidents and enforcement action, looks at statistical trends over a ten year period, and summarises the work of PIAP. Copies of the latest Report for 2002/3 have been placed in the House Library.