Sub spread germs
in ’60s testsThe Pentagon reveals it released bacteria
and chemical agents in and around Hawaii
The Pentagon disclosed for the first time yesterday that a submarine was used to disperse nonlethal chemical agents in Hawaii waters during six years of secret tests.
The classified tests were conducted by the submarine USS Carbonero about 80 miles south-southwest of Oahu beginning in 1966 and were meant to test the effectiveness of the agents' capabilities as well to determine their effect on Oahu.
The Pentagon began releasing information last year on the tests that were done between 1962 and 1973. They involved 5,842 servicemen, many of whom said they were not told what was going on. Disclosures last year on the classified tests said sarin nerve gas was used in some Hawaii experiments. The Hawaii tests began in January 1963 and ran through 1969.
Yesterday's report contained more information on what was called Project 112 or Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense), which was done on Navy ships.
Other tests were done in the rain forests of Hawaii and offshore. The tests used Bacillus globigii, a bacterium believed to be harmless. Researchers later discovered it could cause infections in people with weak immune systems.
In the 1966 tests, known as "Half Note," the Carbonero released a cloud of chemical agents that surrounded the crew of the Navy tugboat George Eastman and five Army light tugs. The purpose of the tests was to determine how the agents spread through the ships.
Between Jan. 18 and March 1, 1968, under the "Blue Tango" test, two types of bacteria, including E. coli, were spread in the rain forest of the Big Island four miles east of Kulani Honor Camp. The purpose of the 40 test sprays was to compare the decay rate of jungle foliage when chemicals are sprayed from above and below the forest canopy.
That same year from April to May, the Carbonero was involved in six experiments under "Fold Arrow." Those 1968 tests involved spraying Bacillus globigii from the submarine to gauge how Venezuelan equine encephalitis would be carried by wind.
During two of the trials, sensing stations were located at 15 places near Pearl City. In other trials the agents were released off Kaneohe Bay.
Rep. Mike Thompson, D-Calif., and several of his colleagues sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld yesterday arguing it would be premature to close the book on the Project 112 and Project SHAD investigations.
"Veterans who may have been exposed during these tests deserve to know all the facts," Thompson said. "The Department of Defense's decision to close its investigation may unfairly deny them that right."
The inquiry began three years ago after several Navy veterans reported health problems they believed might be caused by their involvement in the tests. Research into the classified project found more tests and many more veterans present, expanding the scope of the investigation.
The United States scrapped its biological weapons program in the late 1960s and agreed in a 1997 treaty to destroy all its chemical weapons.
Dr. Michael Kilpatrick, deputy director of the Defense Department's Deployment Health Support Directorate, said none of the tests were done to gauge the human response to chemical or biological weapons.
Kilpatrick said military personnel were protected from the agents by shelter, protective clothing or vaccinations. However, some Navy veterans who were on the test ships have told the Star-Bulletin that they were never warned or issued protective gear.
To date, 260 service members have reported illnesses to the Veterans Administration that they believe are related to their presence at the test sites.
Even if none of the military personnel were harmed, there remain ethical questions of conducting tests on unwitting soldiers, said Steven Aftergood, an expert on government secrecy with the Federation of American Scientists.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.