Written question asked by Patsy Calton (Liberal Democrat) on Thursday, 27 March 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Tuesday, 1 April 2003. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Tuesday, 1 April 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, pursuant to his Answer of 20th March, 401 c884W, on chemical and biological weapons, what estimate has been made of the individual useable minimum and maximum lifetime, given the varying degrees of initial purity and differing storage conditions, of (a) wet form of anthrax, (b) smallpox, (c) VX gas and (d) mustard gas.

Answer: Mrs. Patsy Calton: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence pursuant to his Answer of 20 March 2003, Official Report, column 884W, on chemical and biological weapons, what estimate has been made of the individual useable minimum and maximum lifetime, given the varying degrees of initial purity and differing storage conditions, of (a) wet form of anthrax, (b) smallpox, (c) VX gas and (d) mustard gas. [106235] Dr. Moonie: As I set out in my previous response, the stability of the individual agents will depend on both their initial purity and the precise conditions in which they are stored. The usable lifetime as chemical or biological warfare agents can vary widely. In respect of the biological warfare agents, it can vary from a couple months to 40 years for the wet form of anthrax and from a couple of days to 30 years for smallpox. For the chemical warfare agents VX and mustard, it can vary from a couple of days to 30 years.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 106235; 402 c649W;402 c649-50W
Session: 2002-03
Subjects: Chemical and biological warfare Chemical weapons Biological weapons Smallpox Anthrax VX nerve gas
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk