PARLIAMENTARY WRITTEN QUESTION
Respiratory System: Health Hazards (13 March 2018)

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with reference to research by the Department of Clinical Science at Bergen University, if he will make an assessment of the implications for his policies of the findings that exposure to cleaning products can cause as much damage to lung function as smoking 20 cigarettes a day.

Asked by:
Helen Hayes (Labour)

This is a matter for the Health and Safety Executive, the national independent regulator for work-related health, safety and illness.

Under normal ventilation conditions or product use, use of household cleaning and personal care products is not a public health concern.

However, there are some cleaning products that will contain hazardous substances and in such circumstances regulations will apply. In these cases the employer needs to undertake a risk assessment and where necessary put the appropriate measures in place to ensure that the products are used properly and safely. The regulations also require employers to provide information, instruction and training for all employees who use hazardous substances in their work, including the appropriate precautions and actions an employee must take to safeguard both themselves and others in the workplace.

Answered by:
Steve Brine (Conservative)
21 March 2018