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Christmas Island Nuclear Tests
Mr. Llew Smith: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will state his policy in respect of the application by Fijian veterans for compensation for the effects on their health of their exposure to atmospheric nuclear tests on Christmas Island. [66428]
Mr. Spellar:
My Department has not received any claims for compensation from Fijian veterans. At the time of the tests, precautions were taken to safeguard the health of those in the area. The effectiveness of these precautions is borne out by independent studies of the health of
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British nuclear test veterans undertaken by the National Radiological Protection Board and Imperial Cancer Research Fund, which found no evidence of excessive illness or mortality among the veterans as a group which could be linked to their participation in the tests or to exposure to radiation as a result of the tests.
Mrs. Ewing:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what are (a) the running costs averaged over a four year period, excluding costs attributable to refits, DEDs, or manning and (b) the current estimates for an average refit and DED of a (i) Type 23 frigate, (ii) Type 22 (Batch 3) frigate, (iii) Sandown class SRMH, (iv) Hunt Class MCMV, (v) Island Class patrol vessel, (vi) Archer Class training vessel, (vii) Castle Class patrol vessel, (viii) Landing Ship-Logistic (LSL), (ix) Bulldog Class survey vessel, (x) Projected CNGF, (xi) Impulse Class tug and (xii) (ARMY) ramped landing craft. [66597]
Mr. Spellar
[holding answer 19 January 1999]: I will write to the hon. Member and a copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what is the average time between major refits for Type 42 ships. [66169]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
Typically, the average time between major refits for RN Frigates and Destroyers is in excess of seven years.
Mr. Hancock:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what has been the interval between major refits for HMS Illustrious. [66167]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
HMS Illustrious has undergone one refit. It took place some nine years after she entered service with the Royal Navy.
Mr. Llew Smith:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make it his policy to establish whether any plutonium that has recently migrated through the groundwater from the nuclear test site in Nevada came from the underground detonation of British nuclear warheads. [66432]
Dr. Godman:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence when he expects to write to the hon. Member for Greenock and Inverclyde further to his statement in the House of 12 November 1998, Official Report, column 506. [66359]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
I expect to write to my hon. Friend shortly. A copy of my letter will be placed in the Library of the House.
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Mr. Steen:
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will list the advertised days and actual number of days on which Army firing took place within each of the three firing ranges in the Dartmoor National Park for the year ended 31 December 1998. [66116]
Mr. Doug Henderson:
The advertised and actual number of days on which Army firing took place within each of the three firing ranges in the Dartmoor National Park for the year ended 31 December 1998 is as follows:
| Advertised | Actual | |
|---|---|---|
| Okehampton Range | 77 | 51 |
| Willsworthy Range | 202 | 147 |
| Merrivale Range | 150 | 84 |
El Shifa Factory, Khartoum
Mr. Dalyell: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence if he will make available the independent evidence which he stated the UK had that the El Shifa factory in Khartoum was making chemical or biological weapons before the US air strike. [65661]
Mr. George Robertson: I am withholding details of the intelligence in our possession regarding the El Shifa factory, under Exemption 1 of the Code of Practice for Access to Government Information.
ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS
National Biotechnology Conference
Mr. Salter: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions when he will produce a response to the National Biotechnology Conference held in March 1997. [64965]
Mr. Meacher: The Government response to the National Biotechnology Conference is available today. The Government have undertaken to examine ways of making more information available to the public about how decisions on biotechnology applications are reached; to ensure that membership of the Advisory Committees reflects a wide range of opinion; to address the wider implications for the natural environment of the introduction of genetically modified crops and to establish procedures for monitoring products when they enter the market. Copies of the response have been placed in the Library.
Waste Oils
Mr. Brake: To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions (1) what assessment he has made of the latest draft of the proposed Used Oil Directive; [65894]
- (2) how much of the waste oils produced in (a) the United Kingdom and (b) the European Union are (i) recovered and recycled and (ii) burnt as fuel, as (1) a quantity and (2) a percentage in each case; [65893]
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(3) what assessment he has made of the environmental impact of burning waste oil; [65891]
(4) what assessment he has made of the potential for recycling waste oils. [65892]
Mr. Meale: No reliable, recent figures of waste oil recovery and recycling are available for the United Kingdom. My officials have confirmed with the European Commission that no recent figures have been published for the European Union. The United Kingdom, along with other EU member states, is currently compiling information on waste oil for the European Commission. It is understood that the consolidated report will be available from the Commission at the end of June.
My Department has not carried out any recent studies of the environmental impact of burning waste oils. However, in carrying out its regulatory functions under the Integrated Pollution Control (IPC) provisions of the Environmental Protection Act 1990, the Environment Agency assesses applications according to the statutory requirements of Best Practicable Environmental Option (BPEO) and Best Available Technique Not Entailing Excessive Cost (BATNEEC) as defined in Part 1 of the Environmental Protection Act 1990. On the basis of environmental analyses of the small number of cases involving waste oils, the Agency has concluded that this process did not adversely affect the environment.
My officials have confirmed with the European Commission that no draft of the proposed Used Oil Directive has been issued.
At this stage, no assessment has been made of the potential for recycling waste oils.
Mr. Gareth R. Thomas:
To ask the Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions what measures his Department is taking to promote the uptake of the environmental management systems ISO14001 and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS). [66626]
Mr. Meale:
The Government fully support and promote the use of environmental management systems and promote the EU Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS) alongside the international standard for environmental management systems (ISO 14001) as complementary means for business to continuously improve performance.
My Department has produced and made available free of charge a full range of introductory leaflets, guides, case study material and videos to encourage business and local authorities to participate in EMAS. These are now all available from the Institute of Environmental Assessment, who I appointed last year to succeed my Department in administering the scheme. EMAS and ISO 14001 are both promoted by my Department and by the IEA at exhibitions and conferences. We are also funding separate promotional efforts by the IEA which is planning to establish a dedicated EMAS website.
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