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Project 112/SHAD REPORT
BY JACK ALDERSON, CHAIR
As this is being written, Congress
is in its lame duck session with not much expected to be
accomplished. H.R. 4259, the Veterans Right To Know Act of
2006, although it had 38 co-sponsors from both sides of the
aisle, did not even get a hearing. This means that it must
be reintroduced in the 110th Congress. Rep. Mike Thompson
(D-Calif.), who sponsored the bill, hopes to get the same
bill number in 2007.
Shipboard Hazard and
Defense (SHAD) veterans were not given pre-deployment physicals,
nor was their health monitored by the government. The Soviet
Union, which also conducted chemical and biological tests,
did follow the health history of its personnel involved in
its tests. Project SHAD Technical Staff (PSTS), with whom
I served, were only given security debriefings when departing
and told if they said anything about SHAD operations, they
would receive free room and board at a federal correctional
facility. We were never checked during our time as PSTS.
This was a valuable health opportunity lost.
TESTING NOW
The Project SHAD technical staff participated
in tests of “hot
agents,” simulants, and trace elements, as well as
decontamination agents that were used during tests and during
training between tests. We were assured of our safety, and
we believed that everything we did was within the knowledge
and safety precautions of the time. I say this because there
is similar training and testing going on right now with service
personnel and civilians.
The Air Force, for instance, is testing
an Active Denial System, a non-lethal riot control weapon
using mid-range radiation. An Air Force spokesman said this
weapon limits the effects of radiation if used properly.
There reportedly have been some ten thousand exposures of
personnel in some of which blistering and burns have occurred.
But what about the latent effects of radiation? Weren’t
our service personnel involved in the aftermath of Hiroshima
and Nagasaki and those who participated in atomic tests told
that if they followed instructions, they would be safe? How
many developed cancer and other health problems that can
be linked to exposure to radiation?
We understand that an accident recently occurred
involving the heavier-than-anticipated dissemination of CS
riot control gas on test subjects during testing of a new
piece of equipment. We hear that Fort Meade, Fort Detrick,
and Dugway Proving Ground will be the sites for testing chemical
and biological agents under the auspices of a new federal
entity called the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development
Agency. One wonders: On whom will BARDA conduct its tests?
We believe that there should—and that there must—be
strong and responsible oversight of any tests done by BARDA.
Those involved in these tests must have their health cared
for and be followed for the rest of their lives. If test-related
illnesses occur, it is the ethical, moral, and legal responsibility
of the American people, through our government, to care for
these men and women.
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©2006-
2010, Vietnam Veterans of America. All Rights Reserved. 8719 Colesville Road, Suite 100, Silver Spring, MD 20910