§ Lord Morris of Manchesterasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they are satisfied that neither the use of organophosphates as pesticides nor of pyridostigmine bromide to protect against nerve gas could have exposed troops involved in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict to neurotoxins; and when pyridostigmine bromide was last given to British troops. [HL4496]
§ Lord BachOur approach continues to be guided by the balance of scientific evidence available. No case of acute organophosphate poisoning was recorded in UK troops in the Gulf in 1990–91. The current balance of evidence does not support the existence of adverse health effects arising from long-term low dose organophosphate exposure.
The published peer-reviewed scientific evidence confirms that there can be short-term effects associated with pyridostigmine, and these were identified in personnel in the 1990–91 Gulf conflict. However, the adverse effects reduce and disappear when the use of pyridostigmine bromide is discontinued. Pyridostigmine bromide in the form of nerve agent pre-treatment set (NAPS) tablets was last issued to Service personnel deployed during OP TELIC in 2003.