§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will initiate a programme of mass screening for traces of depleted uranium poisoning for all UK soldiers who served in the Gulf War and who served or are serving in Bosnia and Kosovo; and if he will make a statement. [144722]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 11 January 2001]: I refer my hon. Friend to the statement made by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces on 9 January 2001, Official Report, columns 877–79.
§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what medical evidence he has received on the effects on the human body of radiation from non-soluble ceramic, alpha-emitting, depleted uranium lodged in the lungs. [144738]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 11 January 2001]: I refer my hon. Friend to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces to my hon. Friend the Member for Bristol, West (Valerie Davey) on 12 December 2000, Official Report, column 70W, and to the statement by my hon. Friend the Minister for the Armed Forces on 9 January 2001, Official Report, columns 877–79.
§ Mr. ChaytorTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent discussions he has had with his NATO counterparts about the health effects of depleted uranium on military personnel and civilians during the wars in the Balkans. [144737]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 11 January 2001]: None. However, the Ministry of Defence is aware of concerns among NATO countries in Europe of the potential health effects of depleted uranium on military personnel who served in the Balkans. Our response to these concerns was set out in the Minister for the Armed Forces' statement to the House on 9 January 2001, Official Report, columns 877–79.
The North Atlantic Council met on 10 January to consider the possible environmental health risks associated with the use of depleted uranium munitions in the Balkans. After that meeting, the Secretary General affirmed that NATO allies are committed to ensuring the health and safety of their Service personnel and to avoiding any ill-effects for the civil population and personnel of non-governmental organisations as a result of NATO military operations. Allies agreed that NATO should continue to cooperate fully with investigations by nations or multinational organisations on the possible effects of exposure; to produce information on the use of depleted uranium munitions during Operations Deny Flight and Deliberate Force in 1994 and 1995; to consult fully with all present and past NATO SFOR and KFOR contributing countries, with a first briefing to be given at a regular meeting of troop contributors on 12 January; to make available to each other, and more widely, information on any health risks associated with the use of depleted uranium munitions; and to establish a working 42W group, which will include participation by non-NATO contributors to KFOR and SFOR, to act as a clearing house for the exchange of information.
The Ministry of Defence welcomes the NATO measures outlined above.
§ Mr. Ian BruceTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many depleted uranium rounds have been fired(a) by the Navy on operational sea training from their Phalanx and Goalkeeper weapons systems and (b) by the Army at Lulworth and Bovington. [145225]
§ Mr. SpellarThe Royal Navy has fired 270 rounds of DU ammunition on operational sea training so far this year. Historic information on DU ammunition firings is not held centrally and could be provided only at disproportionate cost. In the Royal Navy only the Phalanx gun system has a DU ammunition variant and no DU ammunition is held for Goalkeeper.
DU ammunition is not fired by the Army on the ranges at Lulworth and Bovington.
§ Dr. Jack CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence at which of his Department's test locations in the United Kingdom the firing of depleted uranium projectiles has taken place; how many test firings have been made at each location; what arrangements are in place for the protection and monitoring of people and the environment; and if he will make a statement. [144771]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 11 January 2001]: The majority of test firing of depleted uranium (DU) projectiles has been undertaken at two locations in the UK. These are at the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) range, Eskmeals and the Army's Kirkcudbright training range. My answer to the previous question in respect of Eskmeals refers. Operations at Kirkcudbright, which commenced in 1981, are currently undertaken by staff from DERA Eskmeals. The current programme is expected to be completed by the end of this year. In addition, some experimental firing of depleted uranium ammunition took place between 1988 and 1990 at the, now, DERA range at West Freugh. Ammunition from Phalanx was fired into Luce Bay to examine ricochet effects. Indoor firing also took place between 1982 and 1983 at the former Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) site at Foulness, which since 1999 has been part of the DERA Shoeburyness site. The building in which the firing took place was designed to prevent any escape of particulate DU into the atmosphere. It is no longer in use and was decontaminated in 1997.
The number of test firings that has taken place is as follows:
Rounds Eskmeals 3,246 Kirkcudbright 16,907 West Freugh 315 Foulness 2200 1 To date 2 Approximately Statutory regulations govern the use of DU on ranges in the UK. These are the Radioactive Substances Act 1993, which controls radioactive waste discharges to the environment and the Ionising Radiations Regulation 43W (IRR) 1999, which are part of the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 and enforced by the Health and Safety Executive. The work undertaken by DERA fully meets the provisions of this legislation.
All staff involved in the depleted uranium firing programme were (and are) fully briefed on the safety aspects of working with DU before commencing work with this material. Although there is no legal requirement to do so, DERA local policy dictates that all staff working with DU are designated Classified Workers under both the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 and preceding legislation. As such, staff are subject to a 'pre-employment' medical examination and are kept under surveillance by a medical practitioner appointed by the Health and Safety Executive.
Exposure of individuals to ionising radiation is monitored by the use of thermoluminescent dosemeters supplied by DERA Radiation Protection Services (DRPS). Exposure to aerosol DU oxides is monitored by the use of personal air samplers. In addition, all members of staff working with depleted uranium in any calendar month are required to provide a sample of urine for uranium analysis at an independent laboratory. This is augmented by the use of the whole body monitoring facilities.
Extensive environmental monitoring of the Eskmeals and Kirkcudbright sites has been carried out and annual reports produced since the start of the firing programme, originally by the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston. In 1993 WS Atkins Limited were commissioned to produce an independent Environmental Impact Assessment for both sites. This report concluded that activities at both locations produced a negligible impact on the local environment. It also made certain recommendations which were subsequently adopted for the ongoing environmental monitoring programme, now overseen by the DERA Radiation Protection Service (DRPS). The monitoring programme includes a strict, long-term environmental sampling routine in which checks are performed on many indicators such as grasses, streams, shellfish etc. None of the samples has ever indicated any concentration above the background level except for contamination in soil around firing and target sites.
Copies of the annual reports are in the Members' Library at the House of Commons and are circulated to local Councils, MPs, and Environmental Protection Agencies.
§ Dr. Jack CunninghamTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the firing of depleted uranium projectiles first took place at Eskmeals; whether such tests have been discontinued; what independent environmental monitoring takes place at this site; if the results are published; and if he will make a statement. [144772]
§ Mr. Hoon[holding answer 11 January 2001]: Depleted uranium projectiles were fired into a semi-enclosed Butt at VJ Battery on the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) range, Eskmeals (formerly part of the MOD's Directorate of Proof and Experimental Establishments) during the period between March 1981 and September 1995 when firing ceased.
Extensive environmental monitoring has been carried out and annual reports produced since the start of the firing programme, originally by the Atomic Weapons 44W Establishment Aldermaston. In 1993 WS Atkins Ltd. were commissioned to produce an independent Environmental Impact Assessment for DERA Eskmeals. The report of the assessment concluded that activities at the site produced a negligible impact on the local environment. It also made certain recommendations which were subsequently adopted for the ongoing environmental monitoring programme, now overseen by the DERA Radiation Protection Services. Copies of the annual reports of this monitoring programme are placed in the Members' Library at the House of Commons and are circulated to local councils, MPs, and Environmental Protection Agencies.
§ Mr. DrewTo ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will publish the health and safety procedures for those operatives who are dealing with spent depleted uranium shells and munitions boxes that have came into contact with depleted uranium(a) in theatres of action and (b) in domestic ordnance facilities. [145134]
§ Mr. SpellarI will write to my hon. Friend and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.