HL Deb 11 April 1994 vol 553 cc77-8WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

How Amiton produced at the CDE Nancekuke as part of its nerve gas research differed from the Amiton marketed as a pesticide under the name of Tetram by ICI; and

Why the ICI patented pesticide Amiton was produced under the name of VG at CDE Nancekuke, what patent fees were paid and what committee oversaw their payment.

Viscount Cranborne

Responsibility for the subject of these questions has been delegated to the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its Chief Executive, Doctor G. S. Pearson, CB. The agency is therefore responding to the question.

Letter to the Countess of Mar from the Director General of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment, Dr. Graham Pearson, dated 11th April 1994

  1. 1. Your Parliamentary Questions to Her Majesty's Government of 23rd March 1994 asking how Amiton produced at the CDE Nancekuke differed from the Amiton marketed as a pesticide under the name of Tetram by ICI and why the ICI patented pesticide Amiton was produced at CDE Nancekuke have been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to carry out research to ensure that the UK Armed Forces are provided with effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. As part of this work the potential hazard of possible chemical and biological warfare agents is assessed and the effectiveness of British protective measures evaluated.
  3. 3. The Chemical Defence Establishment Nancekuke had the experience and the facilities to handle and produce toxic organophosphonate compounds as part of the United Kingdom's programme of research into chemical warfare agents and chemical defence. When the decision was taken to abandon work on offensive chemical and biological weapons in the late 1950s, spare capacity became available at CDE Nancekuke to carry out other work requiring the skills and expertise: that had been acquired by CDE Nancekuke.
  4. 4. During the period 1955 to 1958, CDE Nancekuke was given a contract by ICI to produce Amiton, an organophosphorate, on repayment terms as part of a normal contractual arrangement. The manufacture of Amiton did not form part of the nerve gas research programme and Amiton was not known as VG. We understand that Amiton was marketed by ICI as Tetram in the latter half of the 1950s and was then withdrawn from sale. Although Amiton is a phosphorate as opposed to a phosphonate, it is included as a scheduled chemical in Schedule 2A of the Chemical Weapons Convention and any production of Amiton today would be covered by the verification provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention.