Recently in HO EIR request Tracer Gas Trials Category

The Home Office has conducted its Internal Review into our Environmental Information Regulations 2004 request, about the Westminster Tracer Gas Trials, which they tried to fob off onto DEFRA.

Essentially, they have disclosed the information which was asked for,i.e. details of exactly which "colourless, odourless, non-toxic" gases, and the quantities which were released into the atmosphere, in the Marylebone / Westminster area of London, to help refine computer models of urban airflows, for chemical and biological warfare or terrorism planning purposes.

As suspected, the gases released are non-toxic, but that does not mean that they are harmless - they are,in fact very potent Greenhouse Gases.

It does seem that they were originally contemplating using Sulphur Hexafluoride, which is the most potent Greenhouse Gas ever tested, which , due to its inertness and stability, is estimated to be equivalent to 23,900 times the equivalent amount of Carbon Dioxide, in terms of its Greenhouse Gas warming effect on the atmosphere, over 100 years.

As it happens, the 3 gases chosen, are the next 3 most potent Greenhouse Gases, equivalent to hundreds of tonnes of Carbon Dioxide, even for the small amount used in the Tracer Gas Trials, which planned to release a few grammes, on about 30 occasions.

This is a Carbon Equivalent which would be similar to a car, circumnavigating the planet several times.

Under the Environmental Information Regulations, the Home Office should have published the Environmental Impact Assessment pro-actively, before the gas emissions began. Why could they not have published these details as part of Home Office Minister Tony McNulty's original Statement ?

For clarity, the corrections in the Home Office email, to the number sequence of our original Questions, have been omitted:

It seems that it could take up to 40 days for an Internal Review by the Home Office of our Environmental Information Regulations 2004 request regarding the Westminster Tracer Gas trials.

Perhaps we will get a proper response by the 20th of August.

After sending a reminder email on Thursday 21st June 2007, i.e. 2 days after the 20 working day limit for our original request, the Home Office seems to be trying the bureaucratic tactic of "it's nuffing to do wiv us", and claim that they are forwarding the email to the Department of Food, Environment and Rural Affairs.

What possible relevance DEFRA has to some research being conducted for anti-terrorism and national security purposes, which was announced via a Ministerial Statement by Home Office Minister Tony McNulty, who also answered two Parliamentary Written Questions from Labour MP and political blogger Tom Watson on these trials.

These Written Answers partially answered one of our EIR questions within the 20 working day period of oir EIR request, something which the Department should have advised us of, bearing in mind the criticisms by the Information Commissioner in similar cases, including our own long running struggle with the Office for Government Commerce / Home Office over the Gateway Reviews for the Identity Cards Programme.

So far as we can see, since the Environmental Impact Regulations 2004 are not as constrained as the Freedom of Information Act 2000, with regards to Exemptions, but we still have to wait for an Internal Review of the handling of our request by a different section of the Home Office, before complaining to the Information Commissioner.

Apart from the Freedom of Information Act 2000, the Information Commissioner also regulates the Environmental Information Regulations 2004, which are a result of European Union law i.e. Article 7 (2) of the European Directive (2003/4/EC)

There seems to be less scope for a Government Department to wriggle out of providing EIR request information, compared with an FOIA request on the same topic. All the usual "Sir Humphrey" excuses seem to have a public interest test, so there are no absolute exemptions.

We shall see if Gordon Brown's vague promises of a more open and transparent Government mean anything to the supposedly re-organised Home Office, or whether they will obstruct our EIR request for basic information about the Tracer Gas Trials which are meant to have started today in the Marylebone / Westminster areas of London, as part of some Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear defence experiments being conducted, not on a test range, but in a real urban city environment.

This basic information, such as exactly what the unnamed , allegedly harmless Tracer Gases (plural) are, what quantities are to be released into the environment, and the Environmental Impact Assessment, etc. should, according to the Environmental Information Regulations have been proactively published already.

About this blog

This United Kingdom based blog has been spawned from Spy Blog, and is meant to provide a place to track our Freedom of Information Act 2000 requests to United Kingdom Government and other Public Authorities.

If you have suggestions for other FOIA requests,  bearing in mind the large list of exemptions, then email them to us, or use the comments facility on this blog, and we will see  what we can do, without you yourself having to come under the direct scrutiny of  "Sir Humphrey Appleby" or his minions.

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Please feel free to email us your views about this website or news about the issues it tries to comment on:

email: blog @spy[dot]org[dot]uk

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WhatDoTheyKnow.com

WhatDoTheyKnow.com - FOIA request submission and publication website from MySociety.org

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who is meant to regulate the Freedom of Information Act 2000 in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

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Access all Information is also logging some FOIA requests

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Blog Links

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Your Right To Know - Heather Brooke

Informaticopia - Rod Ward

Open Secrets - a blog about freedom of information by BBC journalist Martin Rosenbaum

Panopticon blog - by Timothy Pitt-Payne and Anya Proops. Timothy Pitt-Payne is probably the leading legal expert on the UK's Freedom of Information Act law, often appearing on behlaf of the Information Commissioner's Office at the Information Tribunal.

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