Defence Science and Technology Laboratory: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 17:16, 24 December 2021

Revision as of 17:26, 24 December 2021

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Dstl was formed from the July 2001 split of the [[Defence Evaluation and Research Agency]] (DERA). Dstl was established to carry out and retain the science and technology work that is best done within government,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.dstl.gov.uk/downloads/framework.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=16 February 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140222100131/https://www.dstl.gov.uk/downloads/framework.pdf |archive-date=22 February 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> while work that could be done by industry (forming the majority of DERA's activities) was transferred to [[Qinetiq]], a government-owned company that was later floated on the stock exchange.

Dstl absorbed the Home Office's Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) in April 2018,<ref name=":1">{{citeCite newsweb|date=24 April 2018|title=Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) becomes part of Dstl|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/centre-for-applied-science-and-technology-cast-becomes-part-of-dstl |titleurl-status=Centre for Applied Science and Technology (CAST) becomes part of Dstl live|access-date=2021-12-24|workwebsite=GOV.UK |access-datelanguage=4 May 2018en}}</ref> taking on CAST's role<ref>{{cite book |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/530164/intro-to-cast-june2016.pdf |title=Home Office Science: Centre for Applied Science and Technology: An Introduction |publisher=Home Office |year=2016 |isbn=978-1-78655-083-5 |___location=United Kingdom |pages=3–4}}</ref> to apply science and technology to support the Home Office's operations and frontline delivery, provide evidence to support policy, and perform certain regulatory functions.

Dstl was a [[trading fund]] of the MOD from its formation until 2016, when it became an [[executive agency]] of the MOD.

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* [[Porton Down]], Wiltshire (headquarters)

* [[Portsdown Hill|Portsdown West]], Hampshire

The former CAST sites at [[Langhurst|Langhurst, West Sussex]] and [[Sandridge]], Hertfordshire were closed around 2020 after the 2018 merger of CAST into Dstl.<ref name=":1" />

Sections of 150-millimetre-thick (5.9&nbsp;in) [[Low-background steel|pre-atomic steel]] plate uncontaminated with [[radionuclide]]s, recovered from [[HMS Vanguard (23)|HMS ''Vanguard'']], were used for the shielding of the [[Whole Body Counter|whole body monitor]] at the Radiobiological Research Laboratory (now Dstl) at [[Alverstoke]], [[Gosport]], Hampshire.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cowling|first=Giles|title=From Land, Sea and Air|url=http://www.defencemanagement.com/article.asp?id=200&content_name=National%20Security%20and%20Resilience&article=5132|url-status=dead|journal=Defence Management Journal|volume=31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120225191422/http://www.defencemanagement.com/article.asp?id=200&content_name=National%20Security%20and%20Resilience&article=5132|archive-date=25 February 2012}}</ref>