§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what assessment he has made of the quantities of DDT used by British forces remaining on Christmas Island. [20801]
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§ Mr. SpellarWe are aware that diluted DDT was sprayed from the air by British forces on Christmas Island, though the records are very limited. The only recorded quantities are for January, February and April 1959 when nearly 209,000 gallons of diluted spray were used. Typical dilutions were one part DDT per 1,000 parts water.
§ Mr. Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence (1) what assessment he has made of the impact on health of the use of DDT spray on British service personnel on Christmas Island; [20877]
(2) what arrangements exist to monitor and update the medical records of service personnel who served on Christmas Island. [20802]
§ Mr. SpellarChristmas Island provides a rich environment for a variety of insects. In the late 1950s and early 1960s when British troops were stationed there, DDT spraying was used for insect control, as was common practice elsewhere in the world at the time. So far as can be established from available records, my Department has made no particular assessments concerning the use of DDT on Christmas Island. Independent studies covering British Nuclear Test Veterans including Service Personnel who served on Christmas Island by the National Radiological Protection Board have shown, however, that
participation in the test programme has not had a detectable effect on participants' expectation of life nor on their risk of developing cancer".We are maintaining a database on the incidence of cancer and cause of death in the test veteran group.