CHEMICAL ALERT AT DEFENCE SITE

EXCLUSIVE: ANDY GREENWOOD CHIEF REPORTER

11:00 - 29 May 2007
A chemical weapons scare was sparked at a former nerve agent factory when a digger driver accidentally unearthed equipment used to produce mustard gas.It has raised fears there could be potentially dangerous substances on other sites in the area, which might not appear on any maps, prompting calls for a full survey to identify potentially contaminated land and to restore public trust.

The discovery at the former Chemical Defence Establishment at Nancekuke, near Redruth in Cornwall - revealed publicly for the first time today - happened last year as contractors investigated a shaft thought to lead to one of five known dump sites.

Tons of equipment and plant from the factory, which manufactured 20 tons of the deadly nerve agent sarin between 1954 and 1956, was buried after the facility was closed in 1977.

Its chemical weapons were either treated and disposed of on site or transported to Porton Down in Wiltshire.

But the material unearthed by accident - thought to be reaction vessels used in the production of chemical weapon agents - had not been mapped, so nobody was aware of its exact whereabouts.

Julia Goldsworthy, Liberal Democrat MP for Falmouth and Camborne, said she would be writing to the MoD to demand a full explanation of the incident to restore public trust. Ms Goldsworthy added: "This is a potentially serious breach of trust with the public as well as a serious breach of safety. It seems to indicate there could be potentially dangerous substances on the sites other than those identified in the decontamination programme.

"A complete and full survey of the site is the only thing to restore public confidence that the decontamination works are comprehensive and can be trusted. If this does not happen, members of the public will justifiably be very cynical about exactly what work has been done and the safety of the site overall."

The incident happened at Nancekuke, now known as RAF Portreath, last July but was not made public. It has now come to light after documents were released to the Western Morning News under the Freedom of Information Act.

An official report into what went wrong said there were "clear shortcomings with the implementation of procedures put in place". It also said that the finds "question the completeness of the 1980 Nancekuke closure report in defining where all of the former CDE Nancekuke wastes are buried" - a document which had previously been relied upon.

Dr Paul Johnston, from the Greenpeace Research Laboratories at Exeter University, said he was concerned but not surprised by the unexpected find.

"We have seen this time and again at MoD sites that are being cleaned up," he said. "Generally speaking, some event has taken place that people want to draw a veil over, or was illegal, or was officially sanctioned but never recorded.

"Mustard has been found to remain hazardous in soil or water for a very, very long time. Unbreached weapons can be very, very dangerous. Considering the reactions they were carrying out and the chemistry they were performing and the huge volume of waste they created, I'm surprised the situation isn't far worse."

An official report into the incident said the equipment was "almost certainly" from Sutton Oak, a chemical warfare plant at St Helens, Merseyside, which was closed when Nancekuke was established in the early1950s.

The site was involved in the manufacture of Lewisite - a chemical warfare agent developed in 1918 but too late for use in the First World War. It is a powerful irritant which immediately damages the skin, eyes, and lungs.

Its laboratory equipment was decontaminated and transported to the Cornwall base where it was dumped.

When it was uncovered, the digger driver was ordered to remain in his cab and remain upwind. Specialists from the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) were called in test for chemicals. None was found.

The report said: "The incident is obviously of serious concern to us and our own internal inquiry will result to changes in future practice."

The report, by Enviros Consulting, concluded there were "no immediate concerns" because there were no traces of chemicals found and it appeared correct disposal policies had been followed.