Database

Alcohol consumption can increase the risk of common health problems and causes some specific diseases. Recent case law suggests that lifestyle factors can be taken into account when considering compensation. If ever liability were to attach to the sale and supply of alcohol, the data provided in this report would help quantify the financial exposure. There remain many uncertainties about dose response relationships. Evidence from: NHS Lifestyle statistics report. “Statistics on Alcohol: England, 2006.” The Alcohol Harm Reduction Strategy for England estimates that up to 22,000 premature deaths per year are associated in some way with alcohol misuse. [6000 of these were due to alcoholic liver disease, 500 due to mental disorders, 92 due to heart disease.] Further detail: 6#3-4 16

With appropriate precautions the hides from cattle reared in the same herd as a BSE case animal can be used without significant risk to consumers. Commercial losses to third parties are predictable if procedures are not followed accurately. Evidence from: The EFSA Journal. May (2006) 367 p 1 – 25 “Opinion on the BSE risk from cohort animals: bovine hides and skins for technical purposes” Further detail: 6#3-4 15

Evidence from: The EFSA Journal. May (2006) 359 p 1 – 14. “Quantitative assessment of the Human BSE Risk posed by Bovine Vertebral Column including Dorsal Root Ganglia” If surveillance of cattle and meat processing continues at its present level and accuracy there is no justification for restrictions of the use of cattle bones in the production of tallow and gelatine. Inclusion of vertebral column in the raw materials used to produce tallow and gelatine from bones or a mixture of tissues (meaning bone and nerve) increases the level of human exposure by ~ 3-10 fold. However, the levels of residual BSE risk for these products calculated in the Quantitative Risk Assessment (QRA) are low and the increased risk factor due to inclusion of vertebral column is unlikely to translate into further cases of vCJD in the population. Therefore, in the case of tallow and gelatine, there appears to be no rationale for imposing an age-limit above which to exclude vertebral column from the ba

The report finds evidence that contamination of food with BSE agent could, in the 1980s and early 1990’s, occur through standard butchery practices. Tighter regulation and inspection should now prevent this. In any case the frequency of infectivity in cattle is now relatively low. Evidence from: Food Standards Agency Project ZM 0306 “Butchery Practices in the UK” A cluster of vCJD cases emerged at Queeniborough in Leicestershire. Further detail: 6#3-4 13

In our view computing and sensing devices will soon be small and cheap enough to make their integration into the environment commonplace. Connectivity will probably be based on radio waves (WiFi) using internet service protocols. Reliability issues could give rise to liabilities, on the other hand, better control of the environment and operating systems could reduce liabilities. Evidence from: HSE Horizon Scanning Initiative. July 2006. “Pervasive Computing” In our view computing and sensing devices will soon be small and cheap enough to make their integration into the environment commonplace. Connectivity will probably be based on radio waves (WiFi) using internet service protocols. Reliability issues could give rise to liabilities, on the other hand, better control of the environment and operating systems could reduce liabilities. HSE use the term to describe the embedding or integrating of computers into the environment so as to increase access to computing power and to

Identity cards will increase the availability of digitised biometric data. Internet service protocols are vulnerable to error and misuse, potentially giving rise to new control errors e.g. inaccurate transactions and security access, or, errors on a much larger scale. Evidence from: House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. July 2006. “Identity card Technologies: Scientific Advice, Risk and Evidence” Clearly the risk of matching to someone else is very low, but the risk of failing to prove that you are who you claim to be is quite high. Denial of service claims could become more problematic. Further detail: 6#3-4 11