§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list those occasions since 1979 on which incidents have occured at AWE, Cardiff, involving a release of argon gas contaminated with beryllium powder into the atmosphere.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleThere have been no such occurrences.
§ Mr. MorganTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will give details of the standard procedure to be 449W followed at AWE, Cardiff if the steel vessel containing beryllium powder were to burst within the furnace under pressure; whether that standard procedure has been altered during the past 10 years; and if he will make a statement.
§ Mr. Kenneth CarlisleIt would not be in the national interest to give details of AWE Cardiff's processing operations. However, during the site's many years of work with beryllium the most stringent health and safety procedures have been developed including careful control and monitoring. In the event of an abnormal occurrence the systems are designed to safeguard the work force, the public and the environment against potential hazard.