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

History of Chemical WarfareDevelopment of Incapacitating Chemical AgentsWhile concern over the use of chemical agentsgrew during the 1960s, the United States continuedits chemical agent production program. Although theNewport VX production plant was completed in 1961and began producing agent, it operated for only 7years before being placed on standby. 4The only incapacitating agent (excluding riot controlagents) standardized by the Army completed developmentin 1962. Designated “BZ,” 3-quinuclidinyl benzilatewas a solid but was disseminated as an aerosol.The major problem with using the agent for militarypurposes was its prolonged time of onset of symptoms,estimated at 2 to 3 hours, before the enemy becameconfused and vulnerable. A second problem was thevisible cloud of smoke produced during dissemination,which limited the element of surprise. 143Public Hostility Toward Chemical WeaponsThe growing protests over the US Army’s role inVietnam, the use of defoliants, and the use of riotcontrol agents both in Southeast Asia and insidethe country, as well as heightened concern for theenvironment all gradually increased public hostilitytoward chemical weapons. Three events particularlygalvanized public attention: the sheep-kill incidentat Dugway Proving Ground, Operation Cut Holesand Sink ‘Em (CHASE), and an accident with sarinat Okinawa.Dugway IncidentThe first event, according to Dugway ProvingGround’s incident log, started with a telephone callon Sunday, March 17, 1968:At approximately 1230 hours, Dr. Bode, Universityof Utah, Director of Ecological and Epidemiologicalcontract with Dugway Proving Ground (DPG), calledDr. Keith Smart, Chief, Ecology and EpidemiologyBranch, DPG at his home in Salt Lake City and informedhim that Mr. Alvin Hatch, general managerfor the Anschute Land and Livestock Company hadcalled to report that they had 3,000 sheep dead in theSkull Valley area. 162(pA-1)Skull Valley was adjacent to Dugway, one of theArmy’s open-air testing sites for chemical weapons.Although the findings were not definitive, the generalopinion was that nerve agents had somehow driftedout of the test area during aerial spraying and hadkilled the nearby sheep. Whether the Army was guiltyor not, the result was bad publicity and, even moredamaging, congressional outrage.Operation CHASEThe second event involved a series of sea dumps ofsurplus chemical warfare agents, primarily mustardagent and some nerve agent, and a problem weaponsystem, the relatively new M55 rocket system. Althoughthe M55 had been standardized only 7 yearsbefore, the thin aluminum head design proved faultyfor long-term storage. The problem of leaking rocketsstarted in 1966, and a year later the Army began disposingof the rockets, sealed in concrete vaults in the hullsof ships that were then sunk in ocean-disposal sites.Operation CHASE, an ongoing program for disposingof conventional ammunition, began accepting chemicalweapons in 1967. That year, CHASE 8 disposed ofmustard agent in ton containers and M55 sarin rockets.In June 1968 CHASE 11 disposed of sarin and VX inton containers, along with additional M55 sarin andVX rockets. In August 1968 CHASE 12 disposed ofmustard agent in ton containers. 4These dumps created significant environmentalconcerns throughout the country, including fears ofan accident during transportation of the weapons bytrain from storage depots to loading docks, and environmentaland commercial concern about the sunkenagents’ effects on marine life.Accident at OkinawaOn July 8, 1969, the Army announced that 23 USsoldiers and 1 US civilian had been exposed to sarinon Okinawa. The soldiers were cleaning sarin-filledbombs preparatory to repainting them when the accidentoccurred. 4 Although none of the individuals died,the public announcement created two controversies.First, up until that time, the Army had kept secret theforward positioning of chemical weapons on Okinawa,and this acknowledgment created international concerns.Second, the accident pointed out the dangersof storing chemical weapons. With chemical weaponsknown to be stored at sites in the continental UnitedStates near cities and residential areas, the fear of an accidentescalated. On July 22, 1969, in response to theseconcerns, the Defense Department announced that itwould accelerate the previously planned removal ofthe chemical agents from Okinawa. 163Changes to the Chemical Warfare ProgramIn April 1969 the secretary of defense tried to explainthe US chemical warfare policy to both the generalpublic and to Congress, stating:59