§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many chemical mines the Iraqi Army laid on(a) land and (b) sea in the course of the Gulf War; 560W where they were found; and what (i) advice and (ii) protection was made available to personnel clearing them. [150946]
§ Mr. HoonAnalysis of the information available to the Government has produced no evidence that chemical weapons, including mines, were issued to operational Iraqi forces during the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. There is no indication that Iraqi laid chemical-agent-filled mines and the Iraqi Government have never declared that they hold or have developed such weapons. UK forces neither discovered nor cleared any such mines.
UK forces were, however, advised that the threat of Iraqi use of chemical mines was a possibility. An assessment contained in the diary of one of the UK Engineer Regiments in theatre in late January 1991 was that Iraq may deploy land mines containing up to 5kg of chemical agent, probably mustard gas or a variation of it, and that these may be laid some 15cm below the subsurface, and could be remotely detonated from a central point. This engineer unit was also advised that such mines might be protected by conventional anti-personnel and anti-tank mines in order to prevent their neutralisation.
We do not have details of what advice was provided on how to make such mines safe, or what protection was to be employed in the course of handling any chemical mines encountered. However, it is believed that personnel undertaking explosive ordnance disposal duties were made aware of the need to wear NBC protective clothing during the handling of chemical or biological warfare munitions of any type, and that this would therefore include any mines with a chemical-agent filling.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if his Department has plans to research chromosome 22 and 22/IE in Gulf War veterans; and what discussions it has had with(a) the US Department of Defense and (b) other agencies on this matter. [150943]
§ Mr. SpellarMy Department has no such plans and has had no discussions on this matter.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans there are to make TH1 and TH2 tests available to Gulf War veterans; and what the cost of such tests would be per capita. [150944]
§ Mr. SpellarMy Department has no such plans.
§ Mr. TynanTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if members of the armed forces who received immunisation in preparation for deployment during the Gulf war have access to their medical records on request. [150261]
§ Mr. Spellar[holding answer 14 February 2001]: The Ministry of Defence handles requests for medical records in accordance with the Data Protection Act 1998. The Act allows an individual full and complete access to his medical records on written request. Access to any part of a health record may, however, be refused if, in the opinion of the appropriate health professional:
(a) disclosure of the record would be likely to cause serious harm to the physical or mental health of the individual or any other person; or561W(b) the record contains information relating to or provided by another person who could be identified from that information, unless consent has been given or the person was a health professional involved in the treatment of the individual making the request.
§ Mr. SalmondTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what decontamination facilities were available in the theatre of the Gulf War for personnel, vehicles and aircraft; in what quantities; and where they were located. [150945]
§ Mr. HoonI refer the hon. Member to the answer which my hon. Friend the Minister of State for the Armed Forces gave to my hon. Friend the Member for Finchley and Golders Green (Dr. Vis) on 7 December 2001,Official Report, columns 455–56W, and to paragraphs 131–38 of the paper "British Chemical Warfare Defence during the Gulf Conflict (1990–91)", which is available in the Library of the House.