The American Legion Joe Hovish (2 Copies) For God and Country .~ ., ... Property of National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission 1608 K Street, N.W. • Washington, D.C. 20006 The American Legion Library Thomas P. Cadmus, Chairman - Michigan 700 N. Pennsylvania Street Carol J. Rutherford, Director - Maryland No. 29-02 Indianapolis, Indiana 46204 November 12,2002 Please Return Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense (SHAD) Update Project Shipboard Hazard and Defense refers to a series of tests, conducted between 1962- 1973, that accessed the ability of US naval ships to maintain war-fighting capability in the event of a chemical or biological attack. The tests were conducted in various locations and various climates to access the behavior of the agents in various environments. Planned by the Deseret Test Center, the tests involved service members from the Navy, Army, Marines, and Air Force. Some of the tests utilized live chemical and biological warfare agents, while others used simulants. Crewmembers mayor may not have been informed of their participation and protection/decontamination procedures. Crewmembers are said to have been the test conductors, while lab animals were the test subj ects. Proj ect SHAD was a part of Project 112, the l1ih test of a larger testing series. Project 112 also included land-based testing. New Fact Sheets Released A total of 41 tests have been declassified to date. The Department of Defense (DoD) released five new detailed fact sheets on Cold War-era chemical and biological warfare tests conducted in support of Project 112 on October 31, 2002. Two of the tests were partially conducted on the Panama Canal Zone and Hawaii. Another was conducted entirely in the Panama Canal Zone. A fourth test was conducted in a tropical jungle environment in an unspecified location. Investigators continue to seek information for this test, which used the riot-control agent CS, commonly known as tear gas. Simulants for chemical and biological warfare agents were used in all the other tests, except for one that used the nerve agent sarin in Hawaii. On October 9, 2002, (DoD) released fact sheets on 28 declassified SHAD and Project 112 tests. The 28 recently declassified tests include land-based as well as sea-based test. According to the Department of Defense, there were 134 tests planned between 1963 and 1975. 46 tests were actually executed. 62 tests were cancelled. There are 26 tests with unknown status. Land based testing took place in Hawaii, Maryland, Alaska, Florida, "Pioneering Quality Service to veterans and Their Families" Utah, Canada, and Great Britain. DoD has released fact sheets for 41 of 46 tests known to have been conducted by the Deseret Test Center. Chemical warfare agents (CWA) used include: nerve agents (tabun (GA), sarin (GB), soman (GD) , (VX) and bezolate incapacitating agent (BZ). Biological warfare agents (BWA) used include: Q Fever (coxiella bumetii), rabbit fever (pasteurella francisella tularensis), wheat stem rust (puccinia graminis var. tritici), and staphylococcal enterotoxin B (pG2). Other potentially harmful tracer materials, decontaminants, and simulants were also used. Fact sheets on all the SHAD tests can be viewed on the VA's web site at www.va.gov/SHAD, or on the DeploymentLink page at www.deploymentlink.osd.mil. These fact sheets contain infonnation on the nature of the respective tests, where and when they were ,?onducted, which ships/ branches were involved, what agents were used, and possible health risks. Health of SHAD Veterans Since little infonnation has been collected about the health status of SHAD veterans, the VA has awarded a contract to the Institute of Medicine (10M) for a three year study of the health of SHAD veterans. The V A also offers medical evaluations to veterans who feel their participation in the tests may have adversely affected their health. To get a medical evaluation, veterans should call the SHAD Helpline at 1-800-749-8387 or email the infonnation request to [email protected]. The VA has been attempting to keep their medical centers aware of issues involving the health of SHAD veterans. On August 26, 2002, The Under Secretary for Health (USH) . issued a third SHAD infonnation letter to VA medical centers which contained infonnation about the first 12 tests declassified by ·DoD. Field facilities received the SHAD directive on August 29, 2002. As of August 1, 2002, there were compensation claims pending for 28 veterans who believed their ailments were due to participation in SHAD. Outreach The Under Secretary for Benefits released two sets of outreach letters to SHAD veterans: 622 (May 17, 2002) and 777 (August 15, 2002). The first letters were sent to veterans who participated in Autumn Gold, Shady Grove, and Copper Head only. The second set of letters were sent to participants of Purple Sage, Scarlet Sage, Eager Belle Phase I and II, Flower Drum Phase I and II, Fearless Johnny, DTC 68-50, and DTC 69-32 only. Some of the participants who received letters on August 15th had also received letters from the initial set of letters, due to their possible involvement in more than one test. 2 Proposed SHAD Leeislation To view the following bills, please go to www.thomas.loc.gov. *S 2514: National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2003. Includes an amendment that addresses infonnation disclosure for SHAD. *HR 5060: "Veterans Right to Know Act of 2002 was created to provide disclosure of infonnation on DoD projects that involve chemical and biological agent testing, which may expose service members to toxic agents. *S 2704: Senate version of the ''Veterans Right to Know Act of 2002" also created to provide disclosure of infonnation on DoD projects that involve chemical and biological agent testing, which may expose service members to toxic agents. If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Shannon Middleton, Health Policy Analyst at 202-861-2700 or at [email protected]. ***********************************~~************************ CAROL J. RUTHERFORD, D' ecto National Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission 3 .