MoD admits Britain's troops could have brain damage caused by their own weapons

Thousands of UK troopscould have brain damage caused by their own weapons, defence chiefs have confirmed.

Blast waves repeatedly caused by explosions from weapons could have led to life-long health issues, it has been revealed. The Ministry of Defence's lead officer on Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) Lt Col James Mitchell admitted exposure to weapons blasts could cause the injuries.

He told ITV News that in Iraq and Afghanistan, TBI and concussion was caused by larger explosions and blasts. But in fact low level blasts may cause health problems. Lt Col Mitchell told ITV News: "Over especially the last five to ten years, we're starting to appreciate the role of what we call low level blasts.” He said low level blasts were predominantly being caused by "the exposure of our service personnel to blast over-pressure from their own weapons systems."

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Lt Col Mitchell said “thousands” of personnel may have been exposed to harmful blasts. Most at risk are troops exposed to heavy weapons like mortars, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapons, 50-calibre rifles and machine guns, or explosive charges.

Explosions create a wave of ‘overpressure’, a spike in the surrounding air pressure above normal atmospheric levels caused by a blast wave. The force is so strong it enters the skull and can cause microscopic damage to blood vessels and neurons.

Repeated exposure means the brain may not heal itself, causing serious long-term neurological damage. Symptoms of blast-related TBI overlap with those of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), making it difficult to diagnose.

They are severe headaches, sight problems, sensitivity to noise and light, memory loss and a sense of personality change. Scientists are probing the causes of TBI, with financial support from the MoD.

The University of Birmingham is playing a key role in the mild TBI study in partnership with the MoD, which aims to estimate what kind of brain damage veterans have. Professor Lisa Hill, a neuroscientist at Birmingham University said: “If somebody gets injured, it changes the structure and function of the brain, but it also releases chemicals that you wouldn’t normally see,” she said.

“So if we can measure things in blood or in their saliva, that can tell us how potentially bad their injury has been and what symptoms they might go on to get.” Hugh Keir, a Para Regiment sniper who fought in Iraq and Afghanistan, now runs the H-Hour podcast which is popular with veterans in the UK and abroad.

He volunteered to undergo a trial scan to see if his years of exposure to blast have left a mark. The results showed normal brain activity overall, but there were some signs that may indicate damage.

Professor Mullinger also plans to study soldiers in real time, to see which activities are highest risk. “We can scan these soldiers before they go and do a training exercise and then immediately after, then we get a baseline which is specific to them,” she said.

“If the ’wire paths’ have been damaged by blasts or whatever else it might be, then the function is going to change.” The information collected from these trials could shape policy, such as modifying the most damaging weapons or reducing blast exposure in training exercises.

British troops throughout the Afghan and Iraq wars were repeatedly exposed to firefights, explosions from bombs and mortars, especially being fired by their own side. Thousands have suffered hearing loss from the blasts but the new research suggests lower-grade blasts may have caused long-term issues.

Sources said the research into the issue is ongoing and may result in protective gear used by soldiers may be investigated and further improved in a bid to protect against the blast waves.

An estimated 300,000 armed forces personnel suffering with hearing loss caused by the relentless noise of military life. Hearing loss and tinnitus is much more common in the military population than the general public. In fact, by the age of 75, service personnel are 3.5 times more likely to experience hearing difficulties than the general public.

The UK Armed Forces has a number of compensation schemes for serving and former serving personnel who have been injured as a result of their service in the armed forces.

If the injury was caused prior to April 6 2005 and the person is no longer serving this would be the War Pension Scheme (WPS). The Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS) was established for soldiers injured after 2005 who are still in active service. However the criteria to claim for both schemes is arduous and in-depth.