§ Mr. JoplingTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 10 December,Official Report, column 798, if he will give details of the strictly controlled 332W conditions under which fire fighting training is carried out, under the exemptions granted to his Department from the statutory nuisance provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990.
§ Mr. AitkenThe defence fire services (Def FS) are required under the terms of the Health and Safety at Work etc., Act to provide MOD's firefighters with realistic training on real fires in a controlled environment. In line with MOD's policy on the protection of the environment, the Def FS have issued strict policy guidelines to limit the numbers of fires conducted for training purposes as well as stating that only uncontaminated fuels should be used in such exercises. The level of pollutants released by such fires, both at the central training establishment and at unit level is minimal, and is covered under MOD's exemptions to the Environmental Protection Act 1990. New practices, such as fuel efficient training aids, and fuel separators are further improving the situation. Nevertheless, it remains essential that actual aircraft carcass fires are tackled in training, since there is no acceptable substitute for this practice.