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Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Churchill: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence where the radiation level records of British service personnel compiled during Britain's nuclear test programme on Christmas Island are currently located; if, and on whose authority, any have been destroyed; and what reason was given to the European Commission on Human Rights for not making these records available to them in respect of the recent cases referred to the court regarding radiological exposure of British service personnel. [19889] Mr. Soames: Records in respect of personnel who had received radiation doses in excess of threshold are held at AWE Aldermaston. As far as can be established, these records are complete, and are available to the individuals concerned. Quite separate from the personnel records, predictions of radiation fields were made prior to each trial. Post trials reports, primarily concerned with device functioning but which also recorded radiation outputs, were also made. Because these reports include information on device design and performance, they remain classified and are retained under section 3(4) of the Public Records Act 1958. As the Government told the European Commission on Human Rights, the issues of fallout from these tests was dealt with in the summary report from AWE dated October 1993. Information on yields of the tests from which the initial radiation effects can be determined were also contained in this report.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

19889; 292 c234-5W

Session

1996-97

Subjects

Personal records Nuclear weapons Radiation exposure Public records Testing