United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories
The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) was a suite of research laboratories and
History
Origins
The USBWL was created after
World War II
Throughout the war years, Dr. Ira L. Baldwin, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was scientific director of the Laboratories.[2]
Cold War
The USBWL were the United States' front-line defense against BW during the first half of the Cold War.
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (November 2008) |
Disestablishment
In 1969, the USBWL ceased to exist when President Richard Nixon disestablished all offensive BW studies and directed the destruction of all stockpiles of BW agents and munitions.
Operations
At Fort Detrick, the USBWL consisted of various labs and divisions, including:
- The Safety "S" Division, first to be activated (1943)
- Biological Protection Branch
- The Special Operations (or Projects) Division (1949–68), the most highly classified work
- Conducted hundreds of field tests of aerosolized simulants;
- Investigated and developed drugs for use in "brainwashing" and interrogation
- Planning Pilot-Engineering (PP-E) Division
- The Crops Division (called "Plant Sciences Laboratories" after 1966), evaluated thousands of compounds for herbicidal activity (including Agent Orange; see Herbicidal warfare)
- The Basic Science [Division?]
- Division B, pursued anthrax vaccine work
The USBWL was also a parent facility overseeing testing and production centers elsewhere, including:
- Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas
- Horn Island, Mississippi
- Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, including Granite Peak Installation
- Terre Haute, Indiana
Three deaths related to occupational
- William Allen Boyles, a 46-year-old microbiologist, contracted anthrax and died on 25 November 1951. Boyles Street, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor. His internal organs were harvested after his death to isolate the anthrax contained in them.[3]
- Joel Eugene Willard, a 53-year-old electrician, died in 1958 after contracting pulmonary anthrax. Willard Place, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor.
- Albert Nickel, a 53-year-old animal caretaker, died in 1964 after being bitten by an animal infected with Machupo virus. Nickel Place, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor.
The army made details of these deaths public in 1975.
Reunions
The "Fort Detrick Reunion Group" met most years between 1991 and 2008 when they disbanded for lack of participants. When they met at
See also
References
- Washington, DC: The Borden Institute, pg 5.
- ^ "A History of Fort Detrick, Maryland" Archived 2012-01-21 at the Wayback Machine, by Norman M. Covert (4th Edition, 2000)
- ISBN 9781538106846.
- ^ Tucker, Pat (2011), "Reunion Group Continues to Give to Fort Detrick Community", Fort Detrick Standard, 23 June 2011, pg 4.