asked the Secretary of State for Social Services (1) what evidence he has of a correlation connection between nitrate levels in drinking water and stomach cancer;(2) what evidence is available to him of the risks to health of excessive levels of nitrate in drinking water.

Recent epidemiological studies carried out in the United Kingdom based on both nitrate concentrations in water and occupational exposure to fertilisers containing nitrate have not shown an association between exposure to nitrate and stomach cancer. Also, none of the studies provides convincing evidence that nitrate ingestion contributes to cancers of other sites.