Asulux ban and links to cancer: EIR release
Information request and response under the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004
Information requested
The HSE guidance that lead to Asulux being banned for use this year. Also can you please advise the number of people in Scotland who have contracted cancer due to the use of Asulux.
Response
As the information you have requested is ‘environmental information’ for the purposes of the Environmental Information (Scotland) Regulations 2004 (EIRs), we are required to deal with your request under those Regulations. We are applying the exemption at section 39(2) of the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), so that we do not also have to deal with your request under FOISA.
This exemption is subject to the ‘public interest test’. Therefore, taking account of all the circumstances of this case, we have considered if the public interest in disclosing the information outweighs the public interest in applying the exemption. We have found that, on balance, the public interest lies in favour of upholding the exemption, because there is no public interest in dealing with the same request under two different regimes. This is essentially a technical point and has no material effect on the outcome of your request.
Response to your request
I attach a copy of most of the information you requested.
While our aim is to provide information whenever possible, in this instance we are unable to provide some of the information you have requested because an exception under regulation 10(5)(e) (confidentiality of commercial or industrial information) of the EIRs applies to that information. The reasons why that exception applies are explained in the Annex to this letter.
Attributing the cause of any cancer with certainty is very difficult. I would like to make you aware that Public Health Scotland (PHS) regularly publishes statistics relating to cancer: Publications - Public Health Scotland
About FOI
The Scottish Government is committed to publishing all information released in response to Freedom of Information requests. View all FOI responses at http://www.gov.scot/foi-responses.
Contact
Please quote the FOI reference
Central Enquiry Unit
Email: ceu@gov.scot
Phone: 0300 244 4000
The Scottish Government
St Andrews House
Regent Road
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG
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