HC Deb 04 April 1995 vol 257 cc1096-8W
Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to instigate a study into the long-term health effects of exposure to chemical and biological substances. [17288]

Mr. Soames

My Department has no evidence that either civilian or service personnel have been exposed to harmful levels of chemical and biological substances which would justify such a study.

Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the differences between the position adopted by(a) the United Kingdom, (b) the United States of America, (c) Australia and (d) Canada in respect of Government provision for ex-service men exposed to chemical and biological substances. [17284]

Mr. Soames

No formal assessment has been made, but legal, health and welfare provisions are known to differ. Not all countries have a national health service; and not all countries' laws allow their citizens, including serving and former members of the armed forces, to pursue legal action through the courts for damages against the state. In the UK, in addition to the above and to the comprehensive system of social security benefits, the Department of Social Security makes provision for war pensions under which former service personnel who suffer an injury or illness which is attributable to service, howsoever caused or by whatever agent, may be entitled to a pension or gratuity.

Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment his Department has made of the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food's investigation of farm workers exposed to organic phosphates in drawing up its own evaluations of the effects of exposure to chemical or biological weapons. [17286]

Mr. Soames

The structure and purpose of organophosphorous nerve agents differ significantly from those of organophosphorous sheep dips. Nerve agents are intended to produce immediate acute effects and can kill in minutes. They principally attack the body through the respiratory system, although some also attack through the skin. For full effect, the nerve agent will need to vaporise over time and result in a downwind hazard. On the other hand, organophosphorous sheep dips have a much reduced mammalian toxicity and there is no requirement for the material to vaporise over time as the route of attack is through contact with the insects. Sheep dip compounds have extremely low volatility, thus rendering any inhalation exposure insignificant. The assessment made by the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food into alleged health problems experienced by farm workers, therefore, have little relevance to the effects of exposure to chemical or biological weapons.

Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make a statement on the United Kingdom's liaison with(a) the USA, (b) Canada and (c) Australia in respect of studies of chemical weapons and defences against their use since 1965. [17289]

Mr. Soames

There are a number of agreements with NATO allies covering research, development, deployment and standardisation of chemical and biological defence equipment. The following international agreements include chemical and biological defence in their scope:

  1. a. The United Kingdom, United States and Canada memorandum of understanding on chemical and biological defence with addresses research, development, production and procurement of chemical and biological defence equipment. This was signed in 1980 and has been an extremely effective means of ensuring close collaboration between the three countries.
  2. b. NATO army armaments group panel VII on nuclear, biological and chemical defence and its sub-panels and working groups which are the main NATO forums. CB defence is also discussed by other NATO panels and by the NATO defence research group.
  3. c. The United Kingdom-United States-Canada-Australia American, British and Canadian Armies agreement between the Armies of the four countries. This includes a group known as the Quadrupartite Working Group which has a panel on NBC defence.
  4. d. The United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia air standardisation co-ordinating committee agreement which also has a sub-group addressing CB defence.
  5. e. The United Kingdom and United States navies have an information exchange agreement which includes NBC defence in its scope.
  6. f. The technical co-operation programme which involves the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is concerned with collaboration in defence research and has a sub-group that is active on CB defence.
  7. g. The Anglo-French defence research group allows the exchange of information and collaboration on research for CB defence.
  8. h. The Anglo-Netherlands-Norwegian collaboration project exchange of information and collaboration on research for CB defence.
  9. i. FINABEL, an army-army agreement covering CB defence information exchange between Britain, France, Italy, Netherlands, Germany, Spain and Belgium.

Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, if he will instigate a compensation scheme similar to that of the United States for former service men and volunteers exposed to chemical and biological weapons. [17285]

Mr. Soames

Any person who is disabled by an injury or illness due to service in her Majesty's forces may be entitled to a gratuity or a pension under the war pensions scheme administered by the Department of Social Security.

Ms Rachel Squire

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence for what reasons Porton Down volunteers are denied the use of Ministry of Defence medical facilities to investigate their ill health with particular reference to long-term health effects of exposure to organic phosphates. [17287]

Mr. Soames

The role of the defence medical services is to train armed forces medical personnel and to provide a health care service for serving members of the armed forces. Responsibility for the health care of those who have left the armed forces rests with the national health service. With regard to Porton Down volunteers, my Department has no evidence that participation in human volunteer studies over the last 40 years has resulted in any long-term adverse health effects.