HC Deb 03 July 1996 vol 280 cc459-62W
Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many scientific papers in the Porton technical papers (radiological) series have been produced by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down since 1966; when the radiological series was closed; and how many papers in the radiological series are currently unclassified. [34465]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the Porton Technical Paper (Radiological) Series. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. The Porton Technical Paper (Radiological) Series closed in 1964 and therefore no papers have been produced since then. There were 50 reports in this series of which 45 are currently unclassified. I hope this information is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what studies have been carried out since 1996 by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down to evaluate the long-term health effects of short-term exposure to the nerve agent GE; when these studies were carried out; and what were the conclusions of these studies. [34472]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996I have been asked to reply to your question concerning long term health effects of exposure to the nerve agent GE. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. Porton Down has not carried out any studies to evaluate long term health effects of exposure to the nerve agent GE since 1966.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of state for Defence what research has been carried out since 1996 by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down to investigate whether skin cancer can be caused by short-term exposure to mustard gas; when this research was carried out; and what were the results of this research. [34470]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996I have been asked to reply to your question concerning research on skin cancer. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. Porton Down has not carried out any studies to investigate whether short term exposure to mustard agent causes skin cancers.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the current security classifications of each of the annual reports produced by the ethics committee overseeing the service volunteers programme at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down since 1966. [34466]

Mr. Arbuthnot

Prior to the establishment of the independent ethics committee in 1991, the work of the service volunteer programme was monitored by the medical sub-committee of the Defence scientific advisory committee—DSAC—which did not separately report on this aspect of its work. The reports of the DSAC were classified, as a minimum "Restricted". Since 1991 the independent ethics committee has produced annual reports which to date have all been classified as "Restricted".

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the policy of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment since 1966 on asking service personnel who are attending courses at the Defence nuclear biological and chemical centre at Winterbourne Gunner to take part in short trials at the establishment during their course. [34474]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996: I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the attendance of service personnel at DNBCC in studies at Porton Down. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. Volunteers are recruited to take part in studies at Porton Down by the means outlined in my letter to you published in Hansard on 11 January 1996 at Col 317. Before 1988 those who attended the Defence NBC School at Winterbourne Gunner may have been given the opportunity, if they wished, to participate in studies at CBDE whilst they were students at the centre. This informal recruiting procedure no longer occurs and all those who participate in the volunteer programme at Porton Down will have applied to attend through their unit's administrative staff. I hope this information is useful.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what details of the participation of service personnel in experiments and trials at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down are recorded on that individual's services medical records; and when this practice was introduced. [34471]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996: I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the details of participation in studies at Porton Down entered on Service Medical Records. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. Since 1990 no Service Volunteers have been permitted to begin a study until their service medical records have been received at Porton Down. An entry is always made on the individual's record to indicate that they have attended the establishment and participated in a study, although this does not give any details of the particular studies actually involved. For many years before 1990 it was also the practice to make an entry on an individual's service medical record although the system for forwarding records to Porton Down was not so reliable and we know that some entries were not made. Porton Down does, however, have other records against which it can cross check whether individuals were Service Volunteers. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment at Porton Down introduced its practice of considering the possible long-term health effects of a chemical before it is exposed to service personnel who are taking part in the service volunteers programme. [34469]

Mr. Arbuthnot

This is a matter for the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency under its framework document. I have asked the chief executive to write to the hon. Member.

Letter from John Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 3 July 1996: I have been asked to reply to your question concerning the introduction of the practice of considering long term health effects of chemicals used in the human volunteer programme at the former Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment. The Chemical Biological Defence Sector (CBD) at Porton Down is now part of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) for which I am responsible as Chief Executive. Before conducting any tests, management and staff at Porton Down have always taken the most careful account of what is known about chemical substances to which Service Volunteers might be exposed during trials. This includes considering possible long term effects on health. The independent Ethics Committee also considers this issue before approving proposed studies involving Service Volunteers. I hope this information is helpful.