Written question asked by Ian Gibson (Labour) on Tuesday, 21 January 2003, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Monday, 27 January 2003. It was answered by Lord Moonie (Labour) on Monday, 27 January 2003 on behalf of the Ministry of Defence.

Ministry of Defence

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, What plans he has to assess the health problems of ex-military staff subjected to radiation from A-bomb tests.

Answer: Dr. Gibson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what plans he has to assess the health problems of ex-military staff subjected to radiation from A-bomb tests. [93185] Dr. Moonie: Two epidemiological studies of some 22,000 participants of the British nuclear test programme have been carried out on the Ministry of Defence's behalf by the National Radiological Protection Board. The results of these studies were published in 1988 and 1993. They showed that, as a group, participation in the tests has had no detectable effect on the expectation of life, or on the risk of developing cancer or other fatal diseases by those who took part. The results of a third study are to be published in a few months' time. There are no plans for any further studies. The Ministry of Defence is aware of clinical study programmes being undertaken at various universities worldwide. We have reservations about the applicability to test participants today since any radiation exposures involved in the tests were generally very small and over 40 years ago.

Secondary information