§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 17 November 1997,Official Report, column 66, what are the current security classifications of (a) the last three annual environment, safety and health reports, (b) the last four quarterly health and safety reports and (c) the last five monthly reports to the Environment Agency on discharges from AWE which have been produced by the AWE Directorate of Environment, Safety and Health. [30564]
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§ Mr. SpellarThe last three AWE Environment Safety and Health Reports have been unclassified. The last Report published was for 1996. Copies are provided to, among others, local council representatives and members of the general public who express an interest.
The last four quarterly health and safety reports were produced in two versions, unclassified and classified. They differ only in terms of the degree of detail included. The unclassified version provides the same essential safety information without breaching security regulations.
Monthly reports made by AWE to the Environment Agency on discharge over the last five months have all been unclassified. These reports are placed on the Public Register by the Environment Agency.
§ Mr. Matthew TaylorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the Warhead Hydrodynamics Division at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, Aldermaston, was set up; what is the purpose of this division; how many series of technical papers or reports are currently being produced by this division; and what are the names of each series.[30563]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Warhead Hydrodynamics Division was set up in 1955. In 1995 it was subsumed into a new Directorate and retitled the Hydrodynamics Department. Its purpose is to undertake research into high explosive detonation processes and the response of materials when subjected to explosive shocks. It produces a variety of working documents, but only one series of technical papers which is known as "Hydrodynamics Department Technical report, R Series".