§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March,Official Report, column 711, what amount of BZ was given to the service volunteers; what tasks or exercises the volunteers undertook after they were given BZ; and how long these lasted, whether these were the first studies with BZ involving service volunteers; what medical countermeasures have been developed by CBDE against BZ; and when was the last time service volunteers were assessed to check whether or not the BZ studies have had any long-term effects. [31964]
§ Mr. FreemanThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.
Letter form J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:
Your question to the Secretary of Defence asking, pursuant to his Answer of 16 March, various questions about the studies undertaken with the psychotropic drug BZ and Service volunteers has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Agency CBDE) as one of its divisions.2. The volunteers were given dosages of BZ which equated to 7µg per Kg of body weight. The study was carried out under full medical supervision to identify the symptoms arising from exposure to BZ and no tasks or exercises were performed by the volunteers. The effects of exposure to BZ were of short duration and were completely resolved within three days in all cases. The volunteers were examined by the resident Army psychiatrist before and after their participation in the studies.3. These studies were part of a series of investigations carried out in the early 1960's to determine the effects of exposure to BZ. A total of 21 Service volunteers were involved. No medical countermeasures to the effects of the psychotropic drug BZ have been developed CBDE.4. I hope this information is helpful.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March,Official Report, column 709, what was the conclusion of the research work at Nancekuke to develop a specification for the material used in the preparation process of the nerve agent GB; when this conclusion was reached; and when the results of this research were exchanged with the United States of America, Canada and Australia. [31965]
§ Mr. FreemanThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.
278WLetter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:
Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 16 March, about specifications for the production of the nerve agent GB and the dates of release of this information to the members of the technical collaboration panel, has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) as one of its divisions.2. The specification for the materials to be used in the production of the nerve agent GB was arrived at through systemic process chemistry studies at laboratory and pilot plant stage. The specification was arrived at by January 1956. At this time the United Kingdom decided unilaterally to abandon its offensive chemical warfare programme and the pilot plant was filled with decontaminant in 1956.3. The materials which were involved in the specification are listed below:
- Isopropanol
- Hydrogen Fluoride
- Methane
- Triethylamine
- Sodium Hydroxide
- Aluminium turnings
- Aluminium chloride
- Phosphorus trichloride
- Methyl chloride
- Oxygen
- Sodium Chloride
- Nitrogen
The research data from the development programme was shared with the United States, Canada and Australia over a number of years extending from 1945 to 1956.4. I hope this information is helpful.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research has been carried out on the nerve agent GE at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down since the closure of the nerve agent plant at Nancekuke; what quality of the nerve agent GE has been used in this research at Porton Down; when the results of this research were exchanged with other countries; and under which defence agreement these results were exchanged. [31966]
§ Mr. FreemanThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.
Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:
Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking for information of the work conducted with the nerve agent GE since the closure of CDE Nancekuke has been passed to me to reply as the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) as one of its divisions.2. No research involving the nerve agent GE has been carried out at CBDE since the closure of CDE Nancekuke in 1979 as far as we are aware3. I hope this information is helpful.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what tests and studies have been carried out at the chemical warfare establishment at Porton Down on service volunteers with mustard gas since 1965; what was 279W the purpose of these tests; how the gas was administered to the volunteers; what was the conclusion of the tests and studies; when these tests were carried out; how many service volunteers were involved in these experiments; and where and on what dates the results of these tests were published in open literature. [31972]
§ Mr. FreemanThis a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.
Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:
Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence requesting information on the studies involving the chemical and biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) since 1965 has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes CBDE as one of its divisions.2. The United Kingdom unilaterally abandoned its offensive Chemical and Biological Warfare capability in the late 1950's. Since then the role of the CBDE has been to provide safe and effective protection to the UK Armed Forces against the threat of chemical and biological weapons.3. From 1965 studies with Service volunteers involving the use of the vesicant agent mustard were undertaken to determine the effectiveness of decontamination procedures and protective measures. Mustard agent, which is an oily liquid, was applied as small drops in patch tests. It would involve disproportionate costs to determine the exact number of volunteers exposed to mustard agent in the past thirty years. Our best estimate, however is that about 70% of volunteers in the late 1960's and 1970's were involved in studies of this nature. Research with Service volunteers and mustard agent ceased in the 1970's when reliable laboratory tests which did not require the use of this type of testing were developed. The results of the studies were not published in the open literature because of the defence sensitivity of this work.4. I hope this information is helpful.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March,Official Report, columns 714–15, which CW agents were used in the studies into the mark IV NBC suit involving service volunteers. [31958]
§ Mr. FreemanThis is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.
Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:
Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking, pursuant to his Answer of 16 March, about which Chemical Warfare agents were used in the studies into the Mk IV NBC suit involving Service volunteers has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Establishment (DERA) which, since April, includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) as one of its divisions.2. No chemical warfare agents were used in studies involving the Mk IV NBC suit and Service volunteers. The protection afforded by the Mk IV NBC suit against chemical warfare agents was evaluated using laboratory techniques which did not require the use of Service volunteers.3. I hope this information is helpful.
§ Mr. LivingstoneTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the quantity of the nerve agent GB which is considered medically safe to be used in experiments involving service volunteers at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Porton Down; when this limit was set; and by whom. [31968]
280W
§ Mr. FreemanAll studies involving the use of human subjects must be approved by the independent ethics committee before the study can begin. The committee must be satisfied that the study involves no harm to the health of the volunteers and that there is a military requirement for the investigation. The most recent studies involving the nerve agent GB with service volunteers used levels of nerve agent which produce meiosis in the volunteer. Meiosis is a well-known short-term effect of exposure to nerve agent vapour and there is no evidence that the volunteers experienced any long-term effects. The specific amount of nerve agent GB required to produce this level of response is a defence sensitive matter.