§ Mr. MillerTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are the most recent figures for deaths among(a) Gulf veterans and (b) the comparison group. [132241]
Deaths of UK Gulf veterans1 April 1991–30 June 2000—Causes (coded to ICD-9)2 ICD Chapter Cause of death Gulf Era Mortality rate All deaths 452 439 1.03 All cause coded deaths 445 429 1.04 Disease-related causes 156 190 0.82 I Infectious and parasitic diseases 3 2 1.50 II Cancers 64 68 0.94 III Endocrine and immune disorders 1 4 0.25 V Mental disorders 8 11 0.73 VI Diseases of the nervous system and sense organs 7 4 1.75 VII Diseases of the circulatory system 57 76 0.75 VIII Diseases of the respiratory system 7 4 1.75 IX Diseases of the digestive system 6 11 0.55 IV, X-XVI All other disease-related causes 3 10 0.30 EXVII External causes of injury and poisoning 289 239 1.21 Railway accidents 4 1 4.00 Motor vehicle accidents 103 80 1.29 Water transport accidents 3 1 3.00 Air and space accidents 25 16 1.56 Other vehicle accidents 0 2 0.00 Accidental poisoning 9 12 0.75 Accidental falls 7 6 1.17 Accidents due to fire/flames 0 1 0.00 Accidents due to natural environmental factors 2 2 1.00 Accidents due to submersion/suffocation/foreign bodies 15 6 2.50 Other accidents 31 24 1.29 Late effects of accident/injury 0 1 0.00 Suicide and injury undetermined whether accidental 83 79 1.05 Homicide 4 4 1.00 Injury resulting from the operations of war 3 4 0.75 Other deaths for which coded cause data are not yet available 4 5 — Overseas deaths for which cause data are not available 3 5 — 1 Service and ex-Service personnel only 2 World Health Organisation's International Classification of Diseases 9th revision 1977
§ Mrs. HumbleTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what data he has collated on the general pattern of chemical warfare agent alerts during the Gulf conflict. [132242]
§ Mr. SpellarOur 1997 policy statement "Gulf Veterans' Illnesses: A New Beginning" set out a number of commitments to help address the health concerns of Gulf Veterans. One of these commitments was to review specific incidents of suggested biological or chemical
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§ Mr. SpellarPeer reviewed scientific data comparing the mortality of UK Gulf veterans to an era group of service personnel who did not deploy to the Gulf was published for the first time in "The Lancet" on 1 July 2000. The Ministry of Defence will now continue to monitor the mortality of both Gulf veterans and the era group and will publish updated figures on a regular basis. The figures as at 30 June 2000 are shown in the table. Overall, in the period 1 April 1991 to 30 June 2000 the mortality of UK Gulf veterans was only slightly greater than that of the comparison group. The number of Gulf veterans dying from disease-related causes is rather less than for the comparison group, whereas the number of Gulf veterans dying of external causes is rather higher than for the comparison group.
The Ministry of Defence will conduct a more detailed analysis of road traffic accidents, to establish whether there are any underlying tends that might help explain this excess.
warfare exposures. As part of this commitment I am today publishing the third paper looking at incidents where veterans have suggested they were exposed to chemical warfare agents. This paper is entitled "A Review of UK Forces Chemical Warfare Agent Alerts During the 1990–1991 Gulf Conflict". I am placing a copy in the Library of the House.
This paper looks at the general pattern of chemical alarms during the conflict. The review has shown that 249W there was usually a straightforward explanation given at the time for chemical warfare agent detection equipment alarming. There is no evidence to suggest Iraqi use of chemical weapons, or the presence of chemical weapons in any of the UK alarms.
The paper reviews in detail two specific incidents: Dhahran on the night of 20 January 1991 when a Scud was destroyed by a Patriot missile close to the airfield there, and Al Jubayl on the morning of 16 February 1991 when a Scud landed in the water in the port area. On both occasions there is no evidence to suggest that the Scuds carried anything other than a conventional warhead.