Dan Jarvis – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Dan Jarvis on 2016-04-12.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, pursuant to the Answer of 14 March 2016 to Question 31000, what assessment the NHS has made of the potential causal link between formaldehyde contained in everyday products and eczema and other atopic conditions.

Jane Ellison

The National Health Service has made no such assessment.

The NHS has to comply with the Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 2002 (COSHH). This applies in the workplace when hazardous substances are manufactured, used or where processes are undertaken that generate hazardous substances. COSHH requires the employer to carry out a risk assessment to establish what, if any, hazards are associated with products/processes employees are using/undertaking and then put measures in place to control exposure to those hazards.