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Thursday, 10 October, 2002, 00:53 GMT 01:53 UK
US admits chemical weapons tests
By Nick Childs
BBC Pentagon correspondent
The Pentagon has published previously secret information revealing that it carried out more extensive tests of chemical and biological warfare agents than had previously been thought.
The tests took place in the 1960s and early 70s.
Test sites
Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland,Utah, Britain, Canada
Tests were also carried out in Britain and Canada, although the Americans say the British and Canadian governments published information on these some years ago.
In all some 5,500 US military personnel were involved.
The Pentagon has previously revealed information on tests of chemical and biological warfare agents aboard US Navy ships at sea.
Now, for the first time, it has given details of similar tests on American soil - in Alaska, Florida, Hawaii, Maryland and Utah - as well as in Britain and Canada.
Veterans concerned
In some of these tests actual toxic agents, including sarin and VX, were released but more than half used simulated agents.
The aim of the tests, the Pentagon insists, was to evaluate equipment, procedures and military tactics and not to check the effects on people.
Personnel wore protective suits.
Civilians were exposed to the simulated agents, Pentagon officials say, but they add that these were harmless and the US military insists it has no evidence that anyone suffered medical effects from the tests at the time.
But in large part the reason for revealing this information now and for briefing the US Congress, as the Pentagon has been doing, is because of concerns expressed by veterans.
More than 50 of them have filed claims because of health concerns and fears they were exposed to dangerous substances.
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http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2315081.stm
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Friday, 24 May, 2002, 18:50 GMT 19:50 UK
US admits nerve gas experiments
The Pentagon has admitted to using the deadly sarin and VX nerve gases in experiments on US Navy ships in the 1960s.
Sarin and VX are two of the world's deadliest biological agents
The tests, conducted in the Pacific from 1964 to 1968, were performed on US Navy ships to test the viability of such weapons, the use of protective gear and decontamination procedures, according to a report released by the department.
The information was made available following complaints by veterans - around 600 personnel thought to have taken part in the tests have been sent mailings by the Department of Veterans Affairs, asking them to undergo medical tests, the Associated Press news agency reported.
The Pentagon's admission could pave the way for veterans to receive compensation if they are found to have medical complications as a result of exposure to biological agents.
Cold War
Six tests in total were conducted during the so-called Shipboard Hazard and Defence programme (Shad) off the Hawaiian coast during a period when America's Cold War with the former Soviet Union was at its height.
It seems to me enough time has passed that someone over there should have known who was involved and what was going on
The tests mostly involved the use of "stimulants" meant to simulate chemical weapons.(Congressman Mike Thompson)
But on at least two occasions in 1964, aircraft sprayed actual nerve gases on two warships and a barge, in operations codenamed Operation Flower Drum I and II.
Sarin gas triggers violent symptoms including uncontrollable seizures and vomiting and is frequently fatal, while VX gas is one of the most virulent substances known to mankind.
Severe exposure can kill a human being in 15 minutes.
The Pentagon has stressed that on both occasions personnel on board were given special gas masks and - on the occasion that sarin was used - protective clothing.
Classified information
But it acknowledged in its statement that the information, classified during the Cold War, had been poorly archived, and that there had been "slow progress" in releasing it to the public.
US Congressman Mike Thompson, who had put pressure on both the Veterans Affairs and Defence departments, said he was "alarmed" that the Pentagon did not appear to have full records to indicate whether the tests had caused ill health in those involved.
"It seems to me enough time has passed that someone over there should have known who was involved and what was going on," he said.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/2006969.stm
Frida
Vincent
Vincent van Gogh realizó esta pintura para su hermano Theo, quien recientemente había sido padre de un niño. Como un símbolo de esta nueva vida Vincent pintó una rama de almendro florecido, uno de los primeros árboles cuyas flores anunciaban la llegada de la primavera en el soleado sur, a principios de febrero.
