Medical Aspects of Chemical Warfare (2008) - The Black Vault

History of Chemical Warfareof the Chemical Corps constituted insurance againstthe possibility of chemical attack in the future.Throughout the 1950s the Chemical Corps conductedseveral extensive studies to improve its organizationand training capabilities. A new trainingcenter at Fort McClellan, Alabama, opened in 1951and offered more space and training options. Aftermore than 30 years in Maryland, the Chemical Schoolmoved to Fort McClellan early in 1952. 4 The emphasison individual training for chemical warfare resultedin the elimination of the unit gas officer, who hadpreviously been responsible for chemical training andreadiness, in 1954. After the change, troop commandersassumed the responsibility and were expected toinclude chemical and biological training in all theirfield exercises and maneuvers. 131Nerve Agent Production and DevelopmentIn 1950 the Chemical Corps began constructing itsfirst full-scale sarin production complex based on pilotplant work accomplished at the Army Chemical Center(formerly Edgewood Arsenal). The production of sarinwas a 5-step process divided between two sites. Forthe first two steps of the process, the corps constructeda plant at Muscle Shoals, Alabama, later designated“Site A,” or the Muscle Shoals Phosphate DevelopmentWorks, which was completed in 1953. The last threesteps of the process were conducted at a new plant atRocky Mountain Arsenal, Colorado. In 1951 the corpsfully standardized sarin, and by 1953 it was producingthe agent. After only 4 years of production, the plantsstopped manufacturing because the stockpile requirementsfor the agent had been met. The plants then wentinto inactive status with layaway planned. The relatedmunitions filling plants also went into standby statusa year later. 4,132Part of the reason for the sarin plant’s closure wasthe development of a new nerve agent. While searchingfor new insecticides, chemists at Imperial ChemicalsLimited in the United Kingdom came across compoundsextremely toxic to humans. The British sharedthe discovery with the United States in 1953. TheChemical Corps examined the new compounds anddetermined that a new series of nerve agents had beendiscovered that were more persistent and much moretoxic than the G-series agents. This new series wasdesignated the “V-series” in 1955 because the agentswere venomous in nature. These agents enter the bodythrough the skin, bypassing protective masks. Theywere 1,000-fold more toxic than sarin when appliedto the skin, and 2- to 3-fold more toxic when inhaled.A drop the size of a pinhead on bare skin could causedeath within 15 minutes. 4,133The Chemical Corps gave top priority to the investigationof these compounds. Of the compoundsinvestigated, VX was selected in 1957 for pilot plant developmentand dissemination studies. It was standardizedin December 1957. The annual report for that yearconcluded “the reign of mustard gas, which has beencalled the King of Battle gases since it was first used inJuly 1917, will probably come to an end.” 134(p100)The corps initially planned to contract with privateindustry for a 10-ton-per-day production plant. A laterdecision put the plant at the inactivated Dana HeavyWater Plant of the Atomic Energy Commission atNewport, Indiana, within the Wabash River OrdnanceWorks. Construction was delayed because of a patentdispute that resulted in a restraining order. In 1959Food Machinery and Chemical Company, the low bidder,won the contract and construction was plannedfor 1960. Shortly after the approval, the ChemicalCorps supplemented the contract to provide for a VXweapon-filling plant. 134,135The remainder of the 1950s was spent developingnew delivery systems and new protective gas masksand improving chemical detection systems, decontaminatingmethods, and treatments, as well as weaponizingsarin. Although delivery systems for VX nerveagent were initiated during the 1950s, no system wasstandardized. In addition, many of the sarin deliverysystems took longer to develop than planned and somewere never standardized.Medical Research on Human VolunteersConcerned with the effects of nerve and otherchemical agents on soldiers, the Chemical Corps beganextensive studies to determine the dangers of exposureand the proper kinds of treatment. These studies exposedsoldiers to low levels of agents to demonstratethe effects of treatment and to investigate the agents’affects on humans.Before the 1950s the use of humans in testing hadbeen conducted on an ad hoc basis and little documentationsurvived. During the 1950s a more formal volunteerprogram was established at the Army ChemicalCenter that drew on local military installations andutilized a specific consent procedure, ensuring thateach volunteer was briefed prior to the experiment.Between 1955 and 1975 over 6,000 soldiers participatedin this program and were exposed to approximately250 different chemicals. 136The Incapacitant ProgramDuring the 1950s the Chemical Corps also becameinterested in developing chemical weapons that55