HC Deb 17 March 1994 vol 239 cc852-4W
Mr. Llew Smith

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what follow-up has been conducted in the last 10 years by his Department as to the long-term health effects arising from experiments conducted on service men from RAF Kinloss in the 1950s at the Porton Down chemical warfare establishment to establish antidotes to chemical warfare agents.

Mr. Hanley

This is a matter for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from Graham Pearson to Mr. Llew Smith, 17 March 1994: Parliamentary Question 29, Order Paper 9 March 1994 1. Your Parliamentary Question to the Secretary of State for Defence, asking what follow up has been conducted in the last 10 years by his Department as to the long term health effects arising from studies conducted on servicemen from RAF Kinloss in the 1950s at the Porton Down to develop antidotes to chemical warfare agents has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to ensure that the United Kingdom Armed Forces have effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used against them. In order to carry out this work, it is necessary to use service volunteers to:

  1. (a) assess the ability of service personnel to function with new equipment and procedures,
  2. (b) develop medical countermeasures to protect Service personnel and
  3. (c) evaluate the effects of very low and medically safe concentrations of CW agents on the ability of unprotected personnel to operate normally.
No studies involving volunteers are carried out unless there is a clear military need and a detailed protocol has been reviewed and approved by an independent Ethics Committee in accordance with the guidelines laid down by the Royal College of Physicians. 3. The procedure in respect of Service volunteers is that on arrival at CBDE each volunteer is given a medical examination to see if they are fit for the proposed study. The nature of the study is explained to them and they are told that they may withdraw from the study without any explanation at any stage. At the end of the study they are given a second medical examination and the fact that they have participated at CBDE in a volunteer study is recorded on their medical records. 4. From time to time, Service volunteers have been recalled so that checks on their medical health can be made. There is no particular frequency or pattern to such recalls. In addition some volunteers return voluntarily to CBDE to take part in subsequent unrelated studies. There is no evidence that Service volunteers have had any deterioration in their health as a result of their participation as a volunteer in a human study. 5. Our records are not collated in such a way as to allow us to readily identify volunteers from. RAF Kinloss in the 1950s. There has been no particular reason to carry out a follow up in respect of these volunteers and none has been carried out.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies and tests have been done by the chemical warfare establishment at Porton Down to assess a nerve agent which penetrates skin and clothes quicker than the G agents and VX; when these experiments were done; and what was the conclusion of the assessment.

Mr. Hanley

[pursuant to his reply, 26 January 1994, c. 305]: I have asked the chief executive of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment to write a further letter to the hon. Member.

Letter from G. Pearson to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 17 March 1994:

PARLIAMENTARY QUESTION 22, ORDER PAPER 18 JANUARY 1994

  1. 1. Further to my answer (Official Record, 26 January 1994, Column 305) to your question about agents which penetrate skin and clothing quicker than the G-agents and VX, my attention has been drawn to a report available in the Public Records Office about work carried out at this Establishment in the early 1960s. This work was to seek organophosphorus anticholinesterases which have the chemical and physical properties likely to make them more effective agents than GB and VX eg compounds which may penetrate human skin more rapidly. The information provided in the report does not provide the additional information that you sought on when these experiments were done and what was the conclusion of the assessment; it would require a disproportionate amount of effort and cost to see if this information is available elsewhere.
  2. 2. The role of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment is to ensure that the UK Armed Forces have effective protective measures against the threat that chemical or biological weapons may be used by an aggressor against them. This work necessitates the study of potential chemical and biological agents that might be used by an aggressor so that the effectiveness of the available protective measures can be evaluated against potential agents and, where appropriate, the protective measures improved.
  3. 3. Work is currently being carried out, and has been for many years, to examine the potential hazard from chemical compounds that might be used as a chemical warfare agent by an aggressor; such compounds may be identified through intelligence or as a result of advances in chemistry.
  4. 4. In my answer of 26 January 1994, I said that our records did not indicate that any tests or studies had been carried out to assess a nerve agent which penetrates skin and clothing quicker than the G-agents and VX. When a parliamentary question concerning work on a particular subject is asked, information is sought from all readily available sources which include the library at CBDE to see if there are any reports on the subject, and the Superintendents of the Divisions at CBDE in which such work is being or may have been carried out, who in turn make enquiries of their senior staff. If these searches reveal no information I then reply stating that our records do not indicate any work into this subject.
  5. 5. It would require a disproportionate amount of effort and cost, every time a Parliamentary Question is asked, to initiate a search into the past records at the Public Record Office or elsewhere to see if there was information on a particular subject. We need to concentrate on providing the UK Armed Forces with effective protective measures against the current hazards should chemical or biological weapons be used against them wherever they may serve worldwide.
  6. 6. The report from the Public Record Office also refers to other materials that have been the subject of parliamentary questions. I will write further letters as soon as the newly available information has been considered.