HC Deb 27 October 1989 vol 158 c654W
Mr. Amess

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he has any plans to review the levels of risk in the storage of conventional military explosives and ammunition.

Mr. Archie Hamilton

In accordance with our policy of keeping these matters under regular review, we have decided to put in hand a full study of risk assessment methodology as related to the storage of conventional explosives and ammunition in MOD depots. A contract has been given to the Safety and Reliability Directorate of UKAEA to conduct the review. This contract will be monitored, and further work undertaken, by an MOD team under the guidance of the Explosives Storage and Transport Committee. In addition, all the work in prospect will be scrutinised by an independent panel of experts chaired by Mr. Bryan Harvey, a former Deputy Director-General of the Health and Safety Executive and a former Chairman of the Advisory Committee on Major Hazards. The panel will include representatives from industry, the academic institutions and the Health and Safety Executive. It will report direct to my noble Friend the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for the Armed Forces as necessary.

The study is in furtherance of our policy of continuing to update our approach to the safety of explosives and ammunition storage and will draw on the experience of industry as appropriate.

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