House of Commons Hansard Debates for 5 Jul 1995

Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, column 717, when the long- standing collaboration between the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment and the Institute of Aviation Medicine began. [31963]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 16th March, asking when the long-standing collaboration between the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) and the Institute of Aviation Medicine (IAM) began, has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA), which now includes both these establishments.

2. There was significant collaboration on the development of protective equipment for air crew from the early 1950's. It is possible that earlier collaboration between the precursor establishments of both CBDE and IAM on protection against the threat posed by chemical weapons occurred but we have been unable in the time available to trace record of this.

3. I hope this information is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, columns 713 14, what were the conclusions of each of the 21 safety audits carried out by his Department's Safety Services Organisation; and if he will place the reports of each of these audits in the Library. [31956]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your letter to the Secretary of State for Defence asking, pursuant to his answer of the 16 March, about the conclusions of the safety audits and for the reports to be placed in Library of the House of Commons, has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) as one of its divisions.

2. Safety audits carried out since 1987 found that CBDE is a highly safety oriented organisation with a workforce and management committed to ensuring a safe and health work environment.

3. In the most recent general safety audit the documentation and procedures were considered to be very good, particularly in the so-called high risk areas. Only minor deficiencies were identified and these were concerned with more general safety measures such as routine inspection of electrical equipment and the care and storage of personal protective equipment.

4. Safety audit reports contain some classified information, particularly in relation to the nature of the work being carried out at CBDE. It is not, therefore, considered to be appropriate to release copies.

5. I hope this is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence which pieces of new equipment have been tested by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment since 1980 in studies involving service

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volunteers to assess the ability of service personnel to function with the equipment. [31970]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question asking the Secretary of State for Defence which pieces of new equipment have been tested by the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) since 1980 in studies involving Service volunteers has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes the CBDE as one of its divisions.

2. Items of new equipment under development which are tested in studies involving Service volunteers are subject to both defence security and commercial sensitivities. I am therefore limited in what I can say on this matter. However, I can tell you that the new individual protective equipment comprising of the No. 1 Mark IV NBC suit and the S10 respirator has been trialled in studies involving Service volunteers since 1980.

3. I hope this information is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence who has served as director or head of the Chemical and Biological Warfare establishment at Porton Down since 1965; and in which years each individual served as director or head. [31974]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence about the directors of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment's (CBDE) since 1965 has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, has included CBDE as one of its divisions.

2. CBDE's role is to carry out research to ensure that the United Kingdom Armed Forces are provided with effective and safe protective measures against the threat posed by chemical and biological warfare agents. From the late 1950s the work has been on purely defensive measures. The Establishment has had eight directors since 1965:

Mr. E. E. Haddon: 1961 1968

Mr. G. N. Gadsby: 1968 1972

Mr. T. F. Watkins: 1972 1974

Dr. R. G. H. Watson: 1974 1983

Dr. A. Bebbington: 1983 1984

Dr. G. S. Pearson: 1984 1995

Dr. G. D. Coley: 1995

3. I hope this information is helpful.

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when the annual report and accounts for the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment for 1994 95 is due to be published. [31973]

Mr. Freeman: We expect the National Audit Office to complete its audit of the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment's 1994 95 accounts shortly. Subject to this, it is intended to lay a copy of the annual report and accounts before the House before the summer recess. Copies will be placed in the Library as soon as they are available.

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Porton Technical Papers

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many scientific papers in the series called Porton technical papers were produced by the chemical warfare establishment at Porton Down since 1965; in which years these papers were produced; and how many of them are unclassified. [31967]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking about the scientific papers in the Porton Technical Papers series produced by the Chemical Warfare Establishment (CBDE) since 1965, has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes CBDE as one of its divisions.

2. The role of CBDE is to provide safe and effective protective measures to the United Kingdom Armed Forces against the threat of chemical and biological weapons. The United Kingdom unilaterally abandoned its offensive chemical and biological weapons capability in the late 1950's. Research at CBDE since this time has been concerned solely with providing a defence against chemical and biological warfare agents.

3. The Porton Technical Papers series closed in 1969. A total of 63 papers were published between 1965 and 1969. Seventeen of these 63 papers held at CBDE are unclassified. I regret that it would involve disproportionate costs to identify the exact years in which each of the papers was published and the present classification of the remainder.

4. I hope the information that I have been able to provide is helpful.

S6 Respirator

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, column 718, in which years the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment carried out studies on the protection afforded by the S6 respirator when worn by human beings; what these studies entailed; what was the conclusion of these studies; which chemical warfare agents were used in these studies; and when the S6 respirator was issued for and withdrawn from use by the armed forces. [31961]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter from J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question to the Secretary of State for Defence asking, pursuant to his Answer of 16th March, about work at the Chemical and Biological Defence Establishment (CBDE) on the S6 respirator, has been passed to me to reply as the Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April, includes CBDE as one of its divisions.

2. The S6 respirator development programme commenced in the early 1950's. During this time a number of user trials were conducted by Service Units. These user trials were, however, not under the control of the then Chemical Defence Establishment (CDE) although personnel from CDE provided general advice on planning the trials and, on occasion, assisted the Unit personnel in conducting the trial. During these acceptability trials the respirator fit was assessed using the Unit's exposure chamber in which chloroacetophenone, a tear gas, was routinely employed. No studies

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involving the use of chemical or biological warfare agents were conducted to assess the protection afforded by the S6 respirator. 3. In addition, to the user acceptability trials conducted by Service Units, studies were carried out between 1954 and 1964 at CDE using Service volunteers wearing the S6. These studies involved the use of simulant materials such a Bacillus globigii, a common organism found in hay and grassland throughout the UK and judged to present no hazard to health; common salt aerosols; and CS, a tear gas. Further studies measured the ingress of nitrogen into the respirator. 4. The S6 respirator was first issued to the Armed Forces in 1966 and its withdrawal from service began in 1986.

5. I hope this information helpful.

Nerve Agents

Mr. Livingstone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer of 16 March, Official Report, column 711 , what amount of BZ was given to the service volunteers; what tasks or exercises the volunteers undertook after they were given BZ; and how long these lasted, whether these were the first studies with BZ involving service volunteers; what medical countermeasures have been developed by CBDE against BZ; and when was the last time service volunteers were assessed to check whether or not the BZ studies have had any long-term effects. [31964]

Mr. Freeman: This is a matter for the chief executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency. I have therefore asked him to reply.

Letter form J. Chisholm to Mr. Ken Livingstone, dated 5 July 1995:

Your question to the Secretary of Defence asking, pursuant to his Answer of 16 March, various questions about the studies undertaken with the psychotropic drug BZ and Service volunteers has been passed to me to reply as Chief Executive of the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency (DERA) which, since April includes the Chemical and Biological Defence Agency CBDE) as one of its divisions.

2. The volunteers were given dosages of BZ which equated to 7g per Kg of body weight. The study was carried out under full medical supervision to identify the symptoms arising from exposure to BZ and no tasks or exercises were performed by the volunteers. The effects of exposure to BZ were of short duration and were completely resolved within three days in all cases. The volunteers were examined by the resident Army psychiatrist before and after their participation in the studies.

3. These studies were part of a series of investigations carried out in the early 1960's to determine the effects of exposure to BZ. A total of 21 Service volunteers were involved. No medical countermeasures to the effects of the psychotropic drug BZ have been developed CBDE.

4. I hope this information is helpful.

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