§ Mr. MeacherTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what facilities have been used for the construction of depleted uranium shells; and what environmental audit has been conducted at these facilities since 1979. [3924]
§ Mr. SoamesMy Department possesses no facilities for the construction of depleted uranium ammunition. In 1982, my Department developed the royal ordnance speciality materials facility at Featherstone, near Wolverhampton, for the manufacture of depleted uranium components for 120mm main battle tank ammunition. The manufacture of Challenger l components was carried out there between 1985 and 1990. Former royal ordnance factories Birtley, County Durham, and Glascoed, Gwent, were involved in the assembly of those components into full rounds.
The speciality materials facility became part of Royal Ordnance plc in 1989. It is now owned by British Aerospace plc. Throughout its operational life, the facility has followed National Radiological Protection Board advice and fully complied with legislation on radiological site licensing, including environmental audit. Information on the environmental audit records for the speciality materials facility, RO(Birtley) and RO(Glascoed) is a matter for Royal Ordnance plc.