---

Ministry of Defence

Answer

Mr. Alasdair Morgan: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many DU penetrators have landed on the land area of the base since test firing of DU shells at Dundrennan range began; and, of these, how many have not been located. [151846] Mr. Spellar: Since test firing of depleted uranium (DU) penetrator rounds first began at Kirkcudbright in 1982, there have been 14 strikes within the range area, including 10 projectiles that struck the ground itself and four that struck the target gantry. The four striking the gantry are believed to have proceeded directly out to sea. Three of those striking the ground have been recovered intact, two are believed to have proceeded out to sea and the other five remain buried in known locations. The path a penetrator would take when entering the soil at high velocity is not easy to predict so, while their entry point is known with reasonable accuracy, the ultimate position of the buried penetrators is not. Recovery attempts would involve a prohibitively large area and depth to be excavated for each round, incurring exceptional cost and with little chance of success. As I mentioned in the Adjournment debate on 7 February 2001, we are now planning to undertake a survey using a device called an Exploranium of the areas where fragmentation of projectiles may have occurred-- ie firing points, landing areas, target areas--in order to locate remaining and hitherto undetected small pieces of DU. This survey is unlikely to be able to detect the buried rounds because of their depth. The contamination caused by fragments remaining on or just below the surface is regarded by the experts as minimal. However, should any areas be found to be contaminated they will be fenced off.

Secondary information

Type

Written question

Reference

151846; 364 c506W

Session

2000-01

Subjects

Ammunition Testing Uranium Firing ranges Kirkcudbright Training Area

Contains statistics

Yes

Link

View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk