http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2002/may/25/world/20020525wor3.html
Saturday,
May 25, 2002
Pentagon officials bare US use of deadly nerve
agents in 1960s test
WASHINGTON - The United
States used deadly Sarin and VX nerve agents in 1960s chemical and biological
warfare tests against U.S. warships and crews in the Pacific, the Defense
Department said on Thursday.
The report, second in a series of "fact
sheets" released by the Pentagon in response to veterans' complaints, stressed
that sailors on ships were aware of their involvement and were protected with
masks and other gear considered effective at the time.
The Pentagon gave
no indication of any illnesses from the tests, but officials said hundreds of
veterans involved in the carefully planned "Shipboard Hazard and Defense" tests
off Hawaii and elsewhere were being notified to contact the Department of
Veterans Affairs for checks if necessary.
Pentagon investigators found
that "simulants" were used in lieu of deadly microscopic weapons in most of the
dozen ship tests, "but a number did involve the use of actual chemical and
biological warfare agents" released by aircraft or other means.
Deadly
stuff
The tests, used to determine the vulnerabi-lity of ships to to
aerosol-launched agents and the ability to clean them out after an attack, in at
least two instances involved actual Sarin gas and VX.
Within minutes,
Sarin can trigger symptoms including difficult breathing, nausea, jerking,
staggering, loss of bladder-bowel control and death.
Extremely lethal VX
is an oily liquid that is tasteless and odorless and considered one of the most
deadly agents ever made by man. With severe exposure to the skin or lungs, death
usually occurs within 10 to 15 minutes.
In 1964, for example, two
warships and a barge were exposed to VX and Sarin in phases one and two of
project "Flower Drum" near Hawaii. Crews on the warships wore special masks and
were kept in a "Safety Citadel" on board, the report said.
'Classified'
info
The Pentagon gave no indication in the papers that any crews of the
ships and military tugs used in the experiments had suffered illness from the
experiments.
"The investigation has been a slow process, partially
because in the Cold War era, this kind of military information was classified,"
the report said.
"Also, investigators are searching through archived,
poorly filed information about events that occurred four decades
ago."
The papers are part of a thrust by the department to look into
chemical and biological tests conducted between 1963 and 1970.
It said
veterans who believe they were involved in SHAD tests and desired medical
evaluations should call the Veterans Affairs helpline at (800)
749-8387.
--Reuters
