HL Deb 07 December 1994 vol 559 cc90-1WA
The Countess of Mar

asked Her Majesty's Government:

Whether NAIAD (Nerve Agent Immobilised Enzyme Alarm and Detector) alarms and CAM (Computer-Aided Measurement and Control) monitors are commonly triggered by compounds emitted by jet engines.

Lord Henley

NAIAD (Nerve Agent Immobilised Enzyme Alarm and Detector) and CAM (Chemical Agent Monitor) are designed to be used in conditions where they would not normally be in close proximity to jet engines. Nevertheless NAIAD was extensively evaluated against a wide range of aircraft engine effluent during its acceptance testing for military use. Out of 18 aircraft types, in only one case was alarm condition attained. In the case of CAM, although aircraft turbine exhaust does not produce a response, field experience suggests that this could happen if the instrument was contaminated with JP4 fuel. It follows that although neither CAM nor NAIAD are commonly triggered by compounds emitted from jet engines, circumstances might arise in which this could happen.