§ Mr. LivseyTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the(a) chemicals used (i) for ground maintenance and (ii) in the training of troops in chemical warfare and (b) training activities that took place on each day between 1 and 9 September at Sennybridge Army Field Training Centre. [62654]
§ Mr. Doug Henderson[holding answer 9 December 1998]: A number of non-toxic chemicals are used at Sennybridge Army Field Training Centre (AFTC) for the purposes of ground maintenance and training troops in chemical defence.
The approved chemicals used for ground maintenance are ROUNDUP, GARALON, and occasionally ASULOX.
During exercises to train troops for defence against chemical warfare, white smoke, CS Gas (Orthoclorobenzlidenmalononitrile), Chemical Agent Training Mixture Polyethyleneglycol 300, and Amyl Acetate are used, the latter to prove respirators prior to use.
The Nuclear Biological and Chemical Battle Run, the area of Sennybridge Training Area used for training in chemical defence, was used by 3 Commando Brigade, the Royal Marines for training on 2, 3, 4, 5 and 8 September 1998. The remainder of the training centre was used for a number of infantry patrolling, live firing, and other tactical training exercises over the period in question.