§ Llew SmithTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what health protection measures are in place at aircraft manufacturing plants where depleted uranium counter weights are installed in aircraft wings. [136720]
§ Mr. BrowneI have been asked to reply.
Work with depleted uranium is governed by the Ionising Radiations Regulations 1999 (IRR99) enforced by the Health and Safety Executive and any employer working with depleted uranium has duties under those regulations.
The use of depleted uranium as a counter weight installed in aircraft wings presents little radiological risk and so few, if any health protection measures are required by the IRR99. It is only when the depleted uranium is machined or in some way dispersed as a dust that, because it can be inhaled or ingested, it presents any significant radiological risk. The IRR99 would then require protection measures such as adequate local ventilation and/or the use of appropriate respiratory protection and protective clothing to minimise those risks.