Freedom of Information Team
Department of Health
39 Victoria Street
London SW1H 0EU
www.gov.uk
Mr James Cameron
email address:
mailto:request-432816-
xxxxxxxx@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx.xxx
14 December 2017
Dear Mr Cameron
Freedom of Information Request Reference FOI 1103462
Thank you for your request to the Department of Health (DH)
dated 21 October
2017 (the deadline of which we extended to consider the Public Interest Test):
“Freedom of Information request - Substance or substances causing Eastbourne Chemhaze
Thank you for your reply, I am particularly interested in information re what substance or
substances had caused the health problems. For example, was it chlorine, sulphuric acid or
something else, if so what; basically information that points to the specific type of medical
ailments (for example, respiratary problems skin eye irritation caused by chlorine)”
This was a clarification of your previous request dated
18 September 2017, to which we
responded on 17 October (our reference FOI 1098619), which was:
“Freedom of Information request - Substance or substances causing Eastbourne Chemhaze
Please provide all you hold on record regarding the Eastbourne Chemhaze at Beachy Head
which caused 150 people to require hospital treatment on 27 August 2017.”
Your new request (FOI
1103462) has been handled under the Freedom of Information Act
(FOIA).
DH holds information relevant to your request, and this is provided in the document
attached.
I have not provided the names or contact details of officials below Senior Civil Service (SCS)
level. Personal data about officials below this level is exempt from disclosure pursuant to
section 40(2) of the FOIA, which provides for the protection of personal information which
would not otherwise be available in the public domain, as disclosing this information would
contravene data protection principles.
If you are not satisfied with the handling of your request, you have the right to appeal by
asking for an internal review. This should be submitted within two months of the date of
receipt of the response to your original letter and should be addressed to the address at the
top of this letter, or the email address at the end of this letter.
Please remember to quote the reference number above in any future communications.
If you are not content with the outcome of your internal review, you may complain directly to
the Information Commissioner (ICO) who may decide to investigate your concerns.
Generally, the ICO cannot make a decision unless you have already appealed our original
response, and received our internal review response. The ICO will not usually investigate
concerns where there has been an undue delay in bringing it to their attention. You should
raise your concerns with them within three months of your last meaningful contact with us.
The ICO can be contacted at:
The Information Commissioner's Office
Wycliffe House
Water Lane
Wilmslow
Cheshire
SK9 5AF
https://ico.org.uk/concerns/
Yours sincerely,
Dorothy Crowe
Freedom of Information Officer
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx@xx.xxx.xxx.xx