Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense) (2007)
Chapter: 3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)
3
An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)
Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense) was a series of tests conducted by the Department of Defense (DoD) in the 1960s and early 1970s to investigate the effectiveness of shipboard detection of and protection procedures against chemical and biological warfare agents (DoD, 2006). Within each test there were typically several separate trials involving exposure of vessels with various agents. In some cases, all the trials within a particular test used the same agent, but for some tests, different agents were used in different trials. Agents included chemical warfare agents sarin and VX; biological warfare agents Pasteurella tularensis, Coxiella burnetti, and staphylococcal enterotoxin B; chemical warfare simulants such as zinc cadmium sulfide; and biological warfare simulants such as Bacillus globigii and Serratia marcescens. Although the tests were originally classified, public and media interest has led the DoD to investigate these tests and to declassify and make publicly available relevant information from them.
Project SHAD involved mainly service members from the Navy and Marines, numbering more than 5,000. The tests were conducted in several areas of the Southwest Pacific, many around Hawaii, and in the Atlantic. The general procedure for testing ship vulnerabilities to biological and chemical agents and simulants varied slightly for the tests and trials. The most common method of disseminating the materials on the ships was by aircraft. Typically, aircraft would fly in front of the target ship and release the materials from spray tanks mounted on the wings. After the material was released, the ship would then steer through the release cloud and record information. The second most popular method for dispersing agents or simulants was to release the material from a turbine disseminator located at the bow of the target ship. Further material describing the nature and conduct of the tests may be found on the study website (IOM, 2006) under “SHAD March meeting agenda.”
Table 3-1 shows a list of Project SHAD tests with military units involved and agents used taken from DoD fact sheets. Test 70-C does not appear on this list because it did not involve any agents, and we therefore did not include it in our study. In addition, although test Flower Drum II appears in the list of Project SHAD tests, according to DoD personnel, no individuals could be assigned to this particular test, and so it is not part of our study.
REFERENCES
DoD (Department of Defense). 2006. Project 112. http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/current_issues/shad/shad_intro.shtml (accessed November 28, 2006).
IOM (Institute of Medicine). 2006. Long-term health effects of participation in Project SHAD. http://www.iom.edu/CMS/3795/4909.aspx (accessed November 28, 2006).
TABLE 3-1 List of Project SHAD Tests, Ships, or Military Units Involved, and Agents
|
Test Name |
Ship or Military Unit |
Agent/Simulant/Decontaminant |
|
Eager Belle I |
USS George Eastman |
BG (Bacillus globigii) |
|
Eager Belle II |
USS George Eastman USS Granville S. Hall USS Carpenter USS Navarro USS Tioga County Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron |
BG |
|
Autumn Gold |
USS Navarro USS Tioga County USS Carpenter USS Hoel USS Granville S. Hall Marine Air Group 13, 1st Marine Brigade |
BG |
|
Errand Boy |
USS George Eastman |
BG betapropiolactone |
|
Flower Drum I |
USS George Eastman USS Granville S. Hall |
Sarin Sulfur dioxide Methylacetoacetate |
|
Shady Grove |
USS Granville S. Hall Army Light Tugs 2080, 2081, 2085, 2086, 2087 Marine Aviation Group 13 Patrol Squadron Four Patrol Squadron Six AEWBARONPAC Detachment |
BG Fluorescent particles Coxiella burnetii Pasteurella tularensis |
|
Copper Head |
USS Power |
BG Fluorescent particles betapropiolactone |
|
Magic Sword |
USS George Eastman |
Mosquitoes Insecticide |
|
Big Tom |
USS Granville S. Hall USS Carbonero |
BG Zinc cadmium sulfide |
|
High Low |
USS Berkeley USS Fechteler USS Okanogan USS Wexford County |
Methylacetoacetate |
|
Fearless Johnny |
USS George Eastman USS Granville S. Hall Two light tugs VC-1 Patrol Squadron Six |
VX Diethylphthlate with fluorescent dye DF-504 |
|
Purple Sage |
USS Herbert J. Thomas |
Methylacetoacetate |
|
Scarlet Sage |
USS Herbert J. Thomas |
BG |
|
Half Note |
USS George Eastman USS Granville S. Hall USS Carbonero Army light tugs 2080, 2081, 2085, 2086, 2087 |
BG Serratia marcescens Escherichia coli Calcofluor Zinc cadmium sulfide |
|
Test Name |
Ship or Military Unit |
Agent/Simulant/Decontaminant |
|
Speckled Start |
USS Granville S. Hall Five Army light tugs 4533rd Tactical Test Squadron, 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing |
BG Staphylococcal enterotoxin B Uranine dye |
|
Folded Arrow |
USS Carbonero USS Granville S. Hall Five Army light tugs |
BG betapropiolactone |
|
69-10 |
USS Fort Snelling Landing Force Carib 1-69/ BLT 1/8 (attached and supporting personnel from 2nd Marine Division) VMA-324, MAG-321, 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing |
Tri (2-ethylhexyl) phosphate (TOF or TEHP) |
|
69-31 |
USS Herbert J. Thomas |
BG Methylacetoacetate |
|
69-32 |
USS Granville S. Hall Five Army light tugs VC-1, Blue Air Squadron Patrol Squadron Six, Fleet Airwing Two |
Serratia marcescens Escherichia coli BG Calcofluor |
