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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)

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Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
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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).

Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
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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

Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
×
Page 10
Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
×
Page 11
Suggested Citation:"3 An Overview of Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense)." Institute of Medicine. 2007. Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense). Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/11900.
×
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More than 5,800 military personnel, mostly Navy personnel and Marines, participated in a series of tests of U.S. warship vulnerability to biological and chemical warfare agents, Project SHAD (Shipboard Hazard and Defense), in the period 1962-1973. Only some of the involved military personnel were aware of these tests at the time. Many of these tests used simulants, substances with the physical properties of a chemical or biological warfare agent, thought at the time to have been harmless. The existence of these tests did not come to light until many decades later.

In September 2002, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) agreed to undertake a scientific study, funded by the Veterans' Affairs, of potential long-term health effects of participation in Project SHAD. In general, there was no difference in all-cause mortality between Project SHAD participants and nonparticipant controls, although participants statistically had a significantly higher risk of death due to heart disease, had higher levels of neurodegenerative medical conditions and higher rates of symptoms with no medical basis.

Long-Term Health Effects of Participation in Project SHAD focuses on the potential health effects of participation in Project SHAD. It is a useful resource for government defense agencies, scientists and health professionals.

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