§ 10. Mr. QuinnTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how much the Government are spending on research into the illnesses of Gulf war veterans. [65533]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonAs I told the House earlier today,Official Report, column 7, my Department has a programme of research into Gulf Veterans' illnesses covering four main areas. So far, about £1.9m has been spent on these studies and we estimate that they will cost a further £4m to complete.
§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what research he has(a) commissioned and (b) evaluated concerning the health effects on service personnel of depleted uranium shells used in the Gulf War. [64225]
§ Mr. Doug HendersonThe Ministry of Defence is currently funding four research programmes into different aspects of Gulf veterans' illnesses. However, none of these programmes is specifically aimed at investigating the relationship between possible exposure to depleted uranium (DU) and the illnesses being experienced by some Gulf veterans. The MOD has previously published the Defence Radiological Protection Service's (now the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency's Radiation Protection Service) 1993 assessment of the radiological and chemical hazards of DU. The MOD continues to monitor published research which may be relevant to the issue of Gulf veterans' illnesses, including any material concerning DU.
I have asked my Department to collate the information which it possesses concerning mechanisms which would be used to test for the presence of uranium in the human body. I will publish this work shortly.
The MOD is well aware that a link has been suggested between exposure to DU and Gulf veterans' illnesses. However, this is only one of a number of factors which have been suggested as causes of Gulf veterans' illnesses and, pending further medical and scientific evidence, my Department is keeping an open mind on this issue.