Written question asked by Lord Taylor of Goss Moor (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 9 July 2001, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Thursday, 12 July 2001. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Thursday, 12 July 2001 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer on 2nd July, Official Report, column 2W, on Porton Down, what the purpose was of the study involving RAF service volunteers at RAF Honington in 2000; what the conclusion of the study was; on what dates it was conducted; and for what reason it was conducted at RAF Honington.

Answer: Matthew Taylor: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his answer on 2 July 2001, Official Report, column 2W, on Porton Down, what the purpose was of the study involving RAF service volunteers at RAF Honington in 2000; what the conclusion of the study was; on what dates it was conducted; and for what reason it was conducted at RAF Honington. [3409] Dr. Moonie: During August 2000 a study involving RAF volunteers took place on the Rapier Detachment Engagement Trainer at RAF Honington. The aim of the study was to assess the possible effects of miosis and ciliary spasm of the eye, from simulated exposure to low dose nerve agent, on the ability to operate the Ground Based Air Defence System Rapier. The study concluded that both miosis and ciliary spasm of the eye has profound affects on any military task involving target detection and/or identification under low illumination conditions.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 3409; 371 c585W
Session: 2001-02
Subjects: Armed forces Chemical and biological warfare Air force Staff Research Defence Evaluation and Research Agency Human experiments RAF Honington
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk