HL Deb 10 November 1999 vol 606 c155WA
Lord Merlyn-Rees

asked Her Majesty's Government:

What progress has been made with respect to the proposed independent review of the zinc cadmium sulphide trials carried out in the UK by the former Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment between 1953 and 1964. [HL4673]

Baroness Symons of Vernham Dean

Professor Peter Lachmann, President of the Academy of Medical Sciences, has agreed to lead an independent review of British trials which used zinc cadmium sulphide as an air movement tracer to assess the vulnerability of the UK to attack by biological weapons. It will concentrate on the question of whether these trials might have had harmful effects on public health. Professor Lachmann is being supported by a small team of experts to assist him. It is intended that this independent review will be completed within the next few months, and that a report will be published and a copy placed in the Library of the House.