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Mr. Andrew Mackinlay (Thurrock) rose--
Mr. Burns: I have a copy of the minutes of the meeting in question, and it clearly records that my official said:
- "Changes in peripheral and/or central nervous system function had been shown in some studies, while others had not shown such effects."
Mr. Burns: I am sorry; I do not have time.
That statement is clearly quite different from the impression given during the radio interview. I should be happy to let the hon. Member for North Cornwall see the extract from those minutes.
Mr. Michael Meacher (Oldham, West):
Will the Minister give way?
Mr. Burns:
Very briefly, because I have only another four minutes.
Mr. Meacher:
I think that it is rather more than that.
Whatever the truth may be about what was said by the Minister's official, will the Government now undertake an investigation into the 500 farmers who are known to be ill with organophosphate poisoning, which they have hitherto refused to do? Will the Minister accept, in view of his earlier remarks, that the licensing system is over-dependent on manufacturers' toxicity data?
Will the Minister take steps to ensure that the evidence on which the licensing decisions are made is made available to the general public? Will he, in the light of the very effective evidence produced by the hon. Member for North Cornwall (Mr. Tyler), now impose a moratorium on the use of organophosphate dips, while instituting a programme to assist farmers with alternative methods of protecting against sheep scab?
Mr. Burns:
I am grateful to the hon. Gentleman. I would appreciate it if he would let me develop my theme, especially on the last point he raised. As I have said, if I run out of time in what is a short debate, I shall write to
I now turn to the issue of what action the Government are taking. The Government are very concerned about the link which some people have claimed between their ill health and the use of organophosphorus insecticides and sheep dips. In common with many other chemicals in daily use, OPs, if misused, can give rise to adverse effects. Without doubt, some of those effects can be very serious.
However, what is not clear is whether, when used in the approved way, these OPs can cause chronic adverse health effects in the long term to the people who are using them. Much of the evidence for long-term effects has been criticised for being anecdotal and because exposure data have been poor. Also, it is exceedingly difficult to establish cause and effect from individual cases which can be caused by other medical conditions, making diagnosis extremely difficult.
The Government have two very clear objectives. One is to establish scientifically whether a link exists between ill health and chronic exposure to OPs. The other is to ensure that people suffering ill health which they feel may be due to such exposure get the best medical advice and care possible, and that medical practitioners have a better understanding of the symptoms which may be associated with chronic exposure to organophosphate sheep dips.
To those ends, we are doing a great deal. First, we are funding a number of research projects, including studies on the occupational hygiene of sheep dipping and on alternative methods of control of sheep scab. One project is being carried out at a number of research institutes, with the aim of producing a vaccine. The other is aimed at obtaining a better understanding of the factors that influence the spread of sheep scab. The projects, which commenced in January 1996, will run for three years from that date.
Most recently, and on the recommendation of the medical and scientific panel, studies costing approximately half a million pounds are being undertaken at the Institute of Occupational Medicine in Edinburgh. This study, which commenced in November 1995, will take about three years to complete and is designed to investigate the effects of organophosphate sheep dips on sheep farmers and sheep farm workers.
The Government have also taken a number of measures to ensure that the problem is brought to the attention of the medical profession. Thus, the chief medical officer wrote to all doctors in England in 1991 and again, with the chief executive of the Veterinary Medicines Directorate, in June 1993, to alert doctors to the possibility of adverse effects from exposure to pesticides and certain veterinary medicines, and to remind them of the reporting schemes for human adverse reactions to veterinary products operated by the Employment Medical Advisory Service and MAFF's Veterinary Medicines Directorate.
The Government also issued in April this year a revised and expanded edition of the book "Pesticide Poisoning: Notes for the Guidance of Medical Practitioners". This includes guidance on the diagnosis and management of acute OP poisoning and on chronic health effects. The
book also includes details of reporting procedures when OP poisoning is suspected.
In the past few days, following discussions between Baroness Cumberlege and the presidents of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Psychiatrists, the chief medical officer has written to the presidents of both colleges giving the Department of Health's support to the setting up of a new advisory group to draw up guidance on how to manage patients who may be suffering from adverse effects from exposure to OP sheep dips.
We have also been concerned to ensure that those using OP sheep dips follow the correct procedures, and to alert them to the adverse effects if they are misused. We therefore published a leaflet for farmers on the safe use of OP sheep dips. That discussed the need for sheep dipping, safe handling of sheep dips, the use of protective clothing, and possible adverse effects of OP sheep dips.
OP compounds have been reviewed several times by the independent expert committees which advise Ministers on pesticides and veterinary products. In 1993, the Veterinary Products Committee reviewed the OP sheep dips, and found that there was no evidence to support a ban or suspension on their use when used properly.
Following its review in 1993, the VPC recommended that the licences should continue, and that a certificate of competence should be required for the purchase of OP dips. A scheme under which a certificate of competence is required before OP sheep dips can be purchased became operative in 1995. Furthermore, the VPC set up an expert panel, the medical and scientific committee, in 1994, to examine the effects of OPs and to recommend research that might be carried out.
To sum up, Britain has an excellent system for approving pesticides and for licensing veterinary medicines. Under both systems, the Government are advised by independent statutory committees of acknowledged experts. We listen to those expert committees and, if they tell us that a product is likely to harm people, we do not let it get on the market.
Believe me, if any grounds emerge to think that the use of OP pesticides, or any other pesticide or veterinary drug, poses a serious threat to the health of the public or to those who will use it, we will have no hesitation in withdrawing it. But before contemplating such a step, we must assemble all the evidence and make an assessment based on the facts.
Malathion is the only OP authorised for the treatment of head lice. There is no evidence to suggest that malathion is dangerous when used for that purpose. Like all marketed medicines, products containing malathion are continuously monitored for safety. That is important, and that is what is happening.
The hon. Member for North Cornwall raised a number of issues with which I have not been able to deal, but I assure him once again that, as he requested at the beginning of the debate, I shall write to him as soon as possible giving him full answers on those matters with which time has not allowed me to deal today.
Question put and agreed to.
Adjourned accordingly at four minutes to Eleven o'clock.
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