[CPEO-MEF] Pentagon expands probe of 1960s chemical weapons tests

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

Pentagon expands probe of 1960s chemical weapons tests 
By Matt Kelley
ASSOCIATED PRESS
July 9, 2002

WASHINGTON ? Pentagon officials are expanding their investigation of 
1960s tests that included spraying chemical and biological weapons on 
U.S. ships.

A team of investigators will visit the Dugway Proving Ground in Utah 
next month to review more records from the chemical and biological 
weapons vulnerability testing program, which ran from 1963 to 1969, a 
Pentagon statement said Tuesday.

The Defense Department admitted for the first time in May that some of 
the tests used real nerve and biological agents. Any soldiers harmed by 
the tests could be eligible for health benefits, according to military 
and Department of Veterans Affairs officials.

The VA has begun mailing letters to about 2,800 veterans who may have 
been involved in the tests.

Tests on ships in the Pacific used the nerve agents sarin and VX and a 
biological toxin that causes flu-like symptoms. They were part of the 
Shipboard Hazard and Defense program, which was overseen by the Deseret 
Test Center at Dugway.

This article can be viewed in its entirety at:
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/military/20020709-1511-chemicalweapons.html

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