Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what information his Department holds on research into possible links between chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and employment in heavy industry.

The principal cause of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is smoking, but there is extensive international research which confirms that past exposures to fumes, chemicals and dusts at work will have also contributed to causing many currently occurring cases.

The Department for Work and Pensions is advised about the risks of occupational diseases, including COPD, by the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council (IIAC) in the context of social security benefits. IIAC is an independent scientific advisory body that reviews research literature and makes recommendations to Ministers about which diseases and exposures should be covered by the Industrial Injuries Scheme. IIAC has reviewed the occupational risks of COPD on four separate occasions, which included consideration of the risks in certain heavy industries (e.g. coal mining, hard rock mining and welding). In 2004, IIAC commissioned research to review the scientific literature about the risks of COPD from exposures encountered during work, including in heavy industry. IIAC’s reports are available on www.gov.uk/iiac or by contacting the IIAC Secretariat.

The available published research – most of which is not UK-based – implicates various agents and occupational groups as being associated with an increased risk of COPD. Coal dust exposure through mining activities is an established cause of the disease. Epidemiological studies have also identified associations between a number of other occupational exposures which are associated with heavy industry, such as other mineral dusts (e.g. respirable crystalline silica), organic dusts and certain chemicals, fumes and combustion products.

The Health and Safety Executive has also commissioned further research to clarify the extent to which occupational factors have contributed to the burden of COPD in Great Britain. This research is currently underway and is expected to report in 2016.