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Written question asked by Dai Davies (Independent (affiliation)) on Friday, 19 October 2007, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 23 October 2007. It was answered by Derek Twigg (Labour) on Monday, 29 October 2007 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Nuclear Weapons: Testing

Question
To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what the title is of each document relating to British nuclear tests in (a) Australia, (b) Christmas Island and (c) Malden Island that has been withheld from public release at the National Archives.
Answer

In accordance with the Public Records Acts, MOD withholds from release to the public at the National Archives files that are over 30 years old, or extracts from them, if and for so long as their contents are judged to be sensitive.Currently MOD holds 45 complete file parts and 10 extracts from file parts that relate to the nuclear tests in Australia, Christmas Island and Malden Island. Lists of all the documents contained within these files could be provided only at disproportionate cost. The files titles are as follows:Files"Christmas Island""Decay rates of fallout at Operation Hurricane""Fallout distribution at Operation Hurricane""Grapple ““Z”” extracts""HMS Diana in light fallout—Op Mosaic""Maralinga and Christmas Island tests""Maralinga—contaminated waste x 2 files""Maralinga, Emu and Monte Bello x 7 files""Nuclear test series, code name Buffalo x 2 files""Operation Antler: preparation for UK nuclear weapon trials at Maralinga 1957""Operation Hurricane: preparation for United Kingdom nuclear weapon trials at Monte Bello 1952""Op Buffalo x 4 files""Operation Antler""Op Hurricane""Operation Hurricane/Tigress""Some solubility experiments on Mosaic and Grapple Fallout""Surface phenomena at Operation Hurricane""UK hydrogen bombs tests: details relating to operations ““Mosaic”” ““Buffalo”” and ““Grapple””""UK hydrogen bomb tests code name ““Grapple”” x 3 files""UK megaton weapon tests at Christmas Island, code name Grapple X x 2 files""UK tests and experiments 1952 to 1963 x 2 files""UK tests and experiments 1952-1963 x 9 files."File extracts"Atomic energy—UK trials—Antler (formerly Sapphire and Volcano)""Buffalo""Grapple ““Z”” extracts""Hydrogen bomb trials x 3 file extracts""Hydrogen bomb trials—Grapple—Grapex""Nuclear tests codename Buffalo""UK megaton weapon tests at Christmas Island, code name Grapple X x 2 file extracts."The Atomic Weapons Establishment holds on the same basis a large number of documents and files relating to nuclear tests. Their list has some 560 entries, and I will arrange for a copy of it to be placed in the Library of the House.

Secondary information

Type
Written question
Reference
465 c977-8W; 160507
Session
2006-07
Related items
Deposited Paper DEP2008-0628
Tuesday, 4 March 2008
Deposited papers
House of Commons
Subjects
Australia Nuclear weapons Radiation exposure Testing Pacific Ocean islands Veterans
Link
View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk