hide caption. He was told never to talk about his experiences at Edgewood and to forget about everything he ever did, said or heard at the Maryland base. Each year more of their stories die with them. [The VA] has made it a priority to identify all service members exposed to chemical and biological substances. Eight individual isomers numbered EA-2233-1 through EA-2233-8. President Nixon ended research into offensive chemical weapons in 1969, and the military no longer uses human subjects in research on chemical agents, said a spokesman for Edgewood Chemical Biological Center, as the facility is known now. These irritant chemicals were selected for human testing following preliminary animal studies. The ruling came on a class-action lawsuit filed by Vietnam Veterans of America, Swords to Plowshares and individual veterans over medical care for troops who participated in research programs at. For more information, fill out our online contact form or call 1-800-YOURLAWYER (1-800-968-7529). In secret chemical weapons experiments conducted during World War II, the U.S. military exposed thousands of American troops to mustard gas. A Defense Department Form 214 or War Department discharge/separation form or the functional equivalent. A deliberate destruction of evidence and files documenting their illegal actions, actions which were punctuated by fraud, deception, and a callous disregard for the value of human life. Paul's paperwork shows he received BZ, which he said felt like he was in a nightmare for hours at a time. "Until we actually got into the process of being in that room and realized, wait a minute, we can't get out of here.". All rights reserved. The court resolved all of the remaining claims in the case and vacated trial. Tim Josephs blames secret Army program for health issues, including Parkinson's disease, Facility tested potentially lethal gases, narcotics and LSD on animals and humans, Cold War research initially aimed to defend against Soviet chemical or biological attack, The VA has contacted and offered free medical evaluations to thousands of veterans. [21], On appeal in Vietnam Veterans of America v. Central Intelligence Agency, a panel majority held in July 2015 that Army Regulation 70-25 (AR 70-25) created an independent duty to provide ongoing medical care to veterans who participated in U.S. chemical and biological testing programs. the common OP antidote, other ocular and respiratory irritants; and. Everyone I have dealt with at your firm has been very professional and courteous. Even a book critical of the program, written by Lynn C. Klotz and Edward J. Sylvester, acknowledges that: Unlike the CIA program, research subjects [at Edgewood] all signed informed consent forms, both a general one and another related to any experiment they were to participate in. Some of the volunteers exhibited symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents but long-term follow-up was not planned as part of the DoD studies. But instead, the military deliberately exposed them to chemical and biological agents. hide caption. The tests evaluated protective equipment like gas masks and suits. In 2009 a lawsuit was filed by veterans rights organizations Vietnam Veterans of America, and Swords to Plowshares, and eight Edgewood veterans or their families against CIA, the U.S. Army, and other agencies. The lawsuit sought for the veterans to be notified about what substances they had received and be provided medical coverage. Sometimes it was an injection. Vol. (Left) The inside of a gas chamber used for tests on American troops during World War II at the Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. Original photo: Courtesy of Charlie Cavell Greene, L. Wilson, "Psychochemical Warfare: A New Concept of War", U. S. Army Chemical Center, Edgewood Arsenal, Maryland; August 1949. Bollinger still has chronic breathing problems and breaks out in eczema in places where he was burned as a young Navy recruit: "Around my privates and under my arms and face and everywhere else," he says. The MRVP was also driven by intelligence requirements and the need for new and more effective interrogation techniques. The chemical caused a delirium that included hallucinations and an inability to carry out tasks. He blames his time at Edgewood for all this, and he has joined a lawsuit on behalf of Edgewood veterans seeking medical benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. From 1955 to 1975, the Army conducted chemical weapons testing on volunteer soldiers at the Edgewood Arsenal facility in Maryland in pursuit of an agent that could disable enemy troops on the field of battle without killing them. "I'm glad to be talking to you about it. Josephs said he didnt know what drugs he was getting. The Edgewood Arsenal continued to produce chemical agents and countermeasures in case they became necessary. [14], A significant omission from the Course summary above is the number of subjects on which BZ and related compounds were tested. Read the secret (now unclassified) Army document revealing BZ tests on soldiers (PDF). According to the memoirs of James Ketchum, who also cites the IOM study for the data, "24 belladonnoid glycolates and related compounds" were "given to 1,800 subjects". BTS will be on hiatus until all seven members complete their mandatory military service in South Korea. "There was no handle on the door. Boxes of medical records his and those of other veterans fill the attic, along with handwritten notes and appeals to the VA. That adds up to 1,167 man-years of survival. Initially, such studies focused solely on the lethality of the gases and its treatment and prevention. 27299 Riverview Center Boulevard, Suite 108. About 7,000 soldiers took part in these experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 different chemicals, according to the Department of Defense (DoD). Two autobiographical books from psychiatrists conducting human experiments at Edgewood have been self-published: Journalist Linda Hunt, citing records from the. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. They ranged from potentially lethal nerve gases like VX and sarin to incapacitating agents like BZ. Historic images from the Naval Research Laboratory depict results of a test subject who was exposed to mustard gas. Josephs received his letter from the VA in 2008, four decades after he arrived at the Maryland base. Other agencies including the CIA and the Special Operations Division of the Department of the Army were also reportedly involved in these studies (NAS 1993). According to the lawsuit, some of the volunteers were even implanted with electrical devices in an effort to control their behaviour. Read the lawsuit complaint document (PDF), Read about an Edgewood volunteers widow who blames the VA for his death, Gordon Erspamer, lead attorney in the suit, has reviewed the partial Edgewood medical records that Josephs was able to obtain with the help of his wife. Expert meeting report. CNN Chief Medical Correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta. In the early 1990s, VA officials also announced the agency would lower its burden of proof to make getting benefits easier in these cases. Cavell then submitted the documents to the VA as proof of his exposure. Call: 988 (Press 1), U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs | 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington DC 20420. Parker Waichman LLP is investigating secret medical experiments that were conducted on U.S. soldiers from 1955 to 1975 at the U.S. Armys Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. APG-EA continued to hurt soldiers ways after the human experiments and should be considered also. The experiments involved at least 254 chemical substances, but focused mainly on midspectrum incapacitants, such as LSD, THC derivatives, benzodiazepines, and BZ. "About 7,000 soldiers took part in the experiments that involved exposures to more than 250 chemicals," it stated. By the early 1950s, Edgewood Arsenal, which became part of the larger complex at the Aberdeen Proving Ground, produced numerous biological agents, developed protective equipment and prophylactic treatments, and shaped US combat policy and practice.In the aftermath of WWII tensions between the US and the USSR prompted scientists, military officials, and policy advisors to increase the number of . The Edgewood Arsenal human experiments took place from approximately 1948 to 1975 at the Medical Research Laboratories which is now known as the U.S. Army Medical . Last year, the Department of Veterans Affairs granted him partial benefits for his Parkinsons for Agent Orange exposure during his time in Thailand, giving Josephs 40% disability. Nine workers, of whom eight were African-American, were killed in the . pp 89, "Secret Army volunteer's widow blames VA for spouse's death" (CNN; 3/3/12), "Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments" (CNN; 3/1/12), Last edited on 30 November 2022, at 16:44, U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense, Vietnam Veterans of America v. Central Intelligence Agency, Human experimentation in the United States, "Altered States: LSD and the Anesthesia Laboratory of Henry Knowles Beecher", "Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Agent Exposure Studies 19551975", Researchers tested pot, LSD on Army volunteers. Not enrolled in the VA health care system? Some of the volunteers exhibited certain symptoms at the time of exposure to these agents. Please be sure to specify the particular web page or function at issue, and provide us with any other information you may think will help us locate the area. The documentary was produced by Zero Point Zero Production, the production company behind Anthony Bourdain's "Parts Unknown," so there's more visual flash and on-camera time for reporters than PBS viewers might expect. "[5] This was alarming enough to a Harvard psychiatrist, E. James Lieberman, that he published an article entitled "Psychochemicals as Weapons" in The Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists in 1962. One of the men who never heard from the VA was John Berzellini. The personal injury attorneys at Parker Waichman LLP offer free, no-obligation case evaluations. However once the experiments were uncovered, the US Senate also concluded questionable legality of the experiments and strongly condemned them. The Maj. Richard Star Act would eliminate the dollar-for-dollar offset on retirement pay that combat-disabled vets with less Capt. We will strive to make that page accessible. 2009), the plaintiffs did not seek monetary damages. These agents are still used today as antidotes to organophosphorus nerve agent poisoning, including accidental poisoning by organophosphorus pesticides. Even when he talks about Edgewood, he said, I get a tightness in my chest.. Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments Compensation. A refusal to satisfy their legal and moral obligations to locate the victims of experiments or to provide health care or compensation to them. These efforts are ongoing. But when he went to fill out paperwork the morning after his arrival, the base personnel were wearing white lab coats, and Josephs said he had second thoughts. Naval Training Center in Bainbridge, Md. Finally, from 1962 to 1972, a total of 123 irritant chemicals were tested on only two subjects each exposed using a wind tunnel (NRC 1984). The Army then sent Josephs to Air Force bases in Thailand, in support of the war effort in Vietnam. The IOM study also concluded that "available data suggest that long-term toxic effects and/or delayed sequellae are unlikely" for this type of compound.[15]. Veterans who have a disease or injury they believe is related to the testing may seek treatment from the Army, according to the Armys Office of the Surgeon General. The Army is required to provide medical care to veterans who took part in classified Army testing of chemical and biological substances decades ago, officials say. Improved Synthesis of EA 1464 and Preparation of its Corresponding Di-(Hydrogen Oxalate) Salt, EA 3669. In the end, the focus is on the veterans who endured these experiments and the struggles many have faced since. 1, 24), stated: [In 1993 and 1994] we [] reported that the Army Chemical Corps conducted a classified medical research program for developing incapacitating agents. A third type of test exposed troops to gas outdoors in simulated combat settings. NPR Investigations Research Librarian Barbara Van Woerkom contributed reporting and research to this investigation. However, the declaration was an effective deterrent, and the Axis powers did not use . A tattered ball cap that says World War II veteran hangs by the front door in his house. Schnurman, who died in 2013 when he was 87, had suffered debilitating injuries after being tested at the U.S. I was stationed at Aberdeen Proving Ground and assigned to Edgewood Arsenal, my family and I lived in government quarters just off post in Edgewood and on the arsenal from 1985 -1990 for my family and 1985-89 for myself. "Incapacitating chemical agents": Law enforcement, human rights law and policy perspectives. He says he is proud of his service, and he wears the cap everywhere he goes. Cheryl Huppertz filed a lawsuit in district court Sept. 28, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel Edgewood to produce public [] In the suit, Vietnam Veterans of America, et al. including tests designed to look for racial difference. A diagnosed medical condition they think is a direct result of taking part in an Army chem/bio substance testing program. But NPR interviewed veterans who met both of those requirements and have still been denied for years sometimes decades as the VA continues to request more information and proof. Kathleen Curthoys is editor of Army Times. There were instances of chemical damages to the car. It passed the Agent Orange Act in 1991, which requires the VA to assume that all veterans who served in and around Vietnam were exposed to the chemical. My question to you is my son suffers from a rare form of eczema and severe asthma. According to the class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Edgewood Arsenal veterans, the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), despite having actively participated in the experiments, has denied between 97% and 99% of all disability or death claims arising out of the exposures. Rep., at 411.[5])[20]. "And as far as the secretary and I are concerned, we're about to do right by them.". It claimed "no significant health effects have been observed" in those who were tested. Lasting from 1950 to 1975, the experiments took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland. "I missed out on so much with my family, not being able to say, when they were little boys, you know, I love them. But the VA didn't uphold those promises, an NPR investigation has found. He believes the testing hurt him emotionally and stole part of his life. Ariel Zambelich/NPR These men aren't polished or rehearsed, and the filmmakers let them have their say, even when things veer into pure speculation. "The word got around they were looking for volunteers for testing," Paul said. I was pregnant with my daughter while there, this was also when they were digging up old cluster bombs while excavating to build some new buildings, the same time the commander was indicted from the environmental agency, the same time they found out the water was not suitable for consumption. Congress has intervened in similar situations. "[6], The Edgewood Arsenal human experiments took place from approximately 1948 to 1975 at the Medical Research Laboratorieswhich is now known as the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)at the Edgewood Area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. The purpose was to evaluate the impact of low-dose chemical warfare agents on military personnel and to test protective clothing and pharmaceuticals. hide caption, When the story broke, VA Deputy Secretary Anthony Principi appeared on 60 Minutes, in 1991, to explain how the agency would respond to men who were injured in the tests: "They should be praised for what they did," Principi said on the CBS News program. According to a deposition given by a former soldier involved in the program who is now deceased, it was not until men arrived at Edgewood Arsenal that they were informed that drugs would also be used in the experiments. The Edgewood Arsenal human experiments took place from approximately 1948 to 1975 at the Medical Research Laboratorieswhich is now known as the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense (USAMRICD)at the Edgewood Area, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. Since I grew up in close proximity to Edgewood with obvious chemical testing, how much can I have transferred birth defects to him? Erspamer said he sees a connection between Josephs Parkinsons disease and the drugs he received at Edgewood. 1. Copyright 2021 Scripps Media, Inc. All rights reserved. Officials at the Pentagon tell NPR it's likely that some of the records about military mustard gas experiments were never recovered. Please switch auto forms mode to off. Instead, they sought only declaratory and injunctive relief and redress for what they claimed was several decades of neglect and the U.S. government's use of them as human guinea pigs in chemical and biological agent testing experiments. II. A failure to secure informed consent and other widespread failures to follow the precepts of U.S. and international law regarding the use of human subjects, including the 1953 Wilson Directive and the Nuremberg Code. What's the use?" When those experiments were formally declassified in the 1990s, the Department of Veterans Affairs made two promises: to locate about 4,000 men who were used in the most extreme tests, and to compensate those who had permanent injuries. 1982-85 IOM report A significant change was made on July 1, 1971, when Edgewood Arsenal, the former chemical center and current chemical research and engineering center for the U.S. Army, was merged into APG. In more than 20 years, the VA attempted to reach just 610 of the men, with a single letter sent in the mail. Edgewood Arsenal Chemical Agent Exposure Studies FAQs. "Shortly after receiving the drug, he is grossly impaired," a narrator said as a soldier struggled through an obstacle course. And this goes to the essence of 'Can you trust your government?' They based that conclusion on the same information that had been sitting in his VA file for decades. From this point on, APG was the common identifier for both areas. By this logic, Edgewood was possibly the safest military place in the world to spend two months. Find out if you qualify for VA health care. "U.S. Navy, Guinea Pig. In order to best serve veterans and their families, VA continues to study the possibility of long-term health effects associated with in-service exposure to chemical and biological weapons, the letter promised. 2004 GAO report Days before his Edgewood duty ended, in February 1968, Josephs was hospitalized for days with Parkinsons-like tremors, symptoms he said have followed him on and off throughout his adult life. Tim clearly had adverse health effects because they gave him such high doses that he ranged from overdose with one substance to the antidote, back and forth, and he actually had to get a very powerful antipsychotic drug because, in the vernacular, he flipped out.. Whether you're looking for news and entertainment, thinking of joining the military or keeping up with military life and benefits, Military.com has you covered. [] At Edgewood, even at the highest doses it often took an hour or more for incapacitating effects to show, and the end-effects usually did not include full incapacitation, let alone unconsciousness. Updated "It's an important story that needs to be told and it's a story that frankly a lot of people don't know," Hancock said. In addition to medical benefits, the lawsuit is asking that the Defense Department and Department of Veteran Affairs find all Edgewood veterans and provide them with details of the chemicals they received and their possible health effects. [1] The experiments were abruptly terminated by the Army in late 1975 amidst an atmosphere of scandal and recrimination as lawmakers accused researchers of questionable ethics. He married Michelle, a nurse, in 1977, but the couple decided not to have children, fearing his chemical exposure might somehow affect them. 2. That won't be too long now probably.". 1, "Anticholinesterases and Anticholinergics" (1982). "This should have been ancient history by now," he told NPR. In his mid-50s, Josephs was diagnosed with Parkinsons disease, a progressive neurological condition that forced him to retire early. Around 7,000 US military personnel and 1,000 civilians were test subjects over almost three decades. Other exposures included tear gas, and hallucinogenics like LSD. According to at least one class action lawsuit filed on behalf of Edgewood Arsenal veterans, other substances tested on soldiers there included mescaline, amphetamines, mustard gas, CS (riot control agent), a THC analog called red oil, anthrax, botulism, plague, tularemia, Q fever, and crop destruction agents such as dioxin, used in Agent Orange. Case No. Original photo: Courtesy of Charlie Cavell, Left: U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Agency; Right: Naval Research Laboratory. This includes receiving medicines or vaccines under the Armys investigational drug review. And it just goes on for years and years, and they just want to wear us down. "[4] Soviet advances in the same field were cited as a special incentive giving impetus to research efforts in this area, according to testimony by Maj. Gen. Marshall Stubbs, the Army's chief chemical officer. (Right) The exterior of a Naval Research Laboratory gas chamber in Washington, D.C. She says they didn't know that he was eligible for disability benefits when he died of a heart attack in 1995. "Dr. Delirium & the Edgewood Experiments" is a new Discovery+ documentary (available on June 9, 2022) that chronicles the program and its long-term effects on the soldiers who participated in the testing. To my knowledge, not one of them died or suffered a serious illness or permanent injury. But until NPR inquired about his case, all of those claims had been denied. Former ABC and Politico correspondent Tara Palmeri leads a team of investigative journalists as they reexamine a dark chapter of Army history. While the soldiers were given the option to decline the drug testing, there were innuendos of bad punishments if they did not participate, the former soldier said, according to CNN. It wasn't the real me there," Paul said. The committee's understanding is that additional, and potentially relevant, material on SHAD tests exists and remains classified. A Government Accounting Office report of May 2004, Chemical and Biological Defense: DOD Needs to Continue to Collect and Provide Information on Tests and Potentially Exposed Personnel (pp. The truth about the CIA is quite another story, one that should've been a huge news story a decade ago but gets fully recounted here for anyone who missed the truth the first time. Ariel Zambelich/NPR. Three test subjects enter a gas chamber, which will fill with mustard gas, as part of the military's secret chemical warfare testing in March 1945. Home U.S. Army Edgewood Arsenal Medical Experiments. Over a period of 20 years, more than 7,000 volunteers spent an estimated total of 14,000 months at Edgewood Arsenal. "Chemical, Biological, and Radiological Warfare Agents", Sommer, Harold Z. Krenzer, John Miller, Jacob I. EA 1464 and Related Compounds. soldiers at the Edgewood Arsenal, or to other "volunteers" under contract to the Edgewood Arsenal, were not disclosed. The club operated from approximately the 1920s until sometime not long after the Arsenal was combined with Aberdeen Proving Ground in 1971. "And these people should have long been appropriately provided for. hide caption. "It just did not look like a military base, more. Yet in just two months, an NPR research librarian located more than 1,200 of them, using the VA's own list of test subjects and public records. Inside the chamber, Cavell's skin started to turn red and burn in the places where he sweat the most: between his legs, behind his neck and under his arms. A classified report entitled "Psychochemical Warfare: A New Concept of War" was produced in 1949 by Luther Wilson Greene, Technical Director of the Chemical and Radiological Laboratories at Edgewood. Veterans may file a claim for disability compensation for health problems they believe are related to exposures during Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests. Fort Hoyle was established on October 7, 1922, and was created from a portion of the Edgewood Arsenal. Treatment will be in addition to the comprehensive medical care that plaintiffs are entitled to receive through Veterans Affairs because of their status as veterans, the release said. A Warner Bros. On July 24, 2013, United States District Court Judge Claudia Wilken issued an order granting in part and denying in part plaintiffs' motion for summary judgment and granting in part and denying in part defendants' motion for summary judgment. In total, Army documents identified 7,120 Army and Air Force personnel who participated in these tests. "That's going to be on my tombstone," Bollinger says. ", And "How would you compare this test with the last one?". General William M. Creasy, former chief chemical officer, U.S. Army, testified to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1959 that "provided sufficient emphasis is put behind it, I think the future lies in the psychochemicals. "We did volunteer," Paul said. Building 509 at Edgewood Arsenal in Harford County, Maryland was a production facility for the assembly of phosphorus igniter assemblies for incendiary bombs, employing a female staff of about 135 assemblers. About 500 World War II veterans die each day, according to data maintained by the VA. "I do think there is a little bit of that attitude of: 'This is today's problem, it will be gone by tomorrow,' " Goss says. According to a CNN report that aired in March 2012, from 1955 to 1975 more than 7,000 soldiers each spent two months at Edgewood Arsenal, where they were exposed to as many 250 different chemical and biological agents as part of secret medical experiments. An officer took him aside. The chemical testing on soldiers stopped in 1975. For example, certain types of 'psychochemicals' would make it possible to paralyze temporarily entire population centers without damage to homes and other structures. Tim Josephs arrived at Edgewood Arsenal in 1968, he knew there was something different about the place. After an hour, the officer released six of the men back to their barracks. The use of troops to test nerve gas, psychochemicals, and thousands of other toxic chemical or biological substances. The testing took place at Edgewood Arsenal in Maryland from 1955 through 1975. Discovery Company. he says. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. Finally, the command and control problems which were apparent in the CIA's programs are paralleled by a lack of clear authorization and supervision in the Army's programs.(S. He said, You volunteered for this. EDGEWOOD ARSENAL / MKULTRA LAWSUIT MOVES TO NEXT PHASE Claims it is unconstitutional for the VA to decide VA claims where VA itself participated in the illegal chemical and biological weapons program. But he's haunted by what happened to him at Edgewood. VA decides these claims on a case-by-case basis. The website has details about applying for medical care through this program. Learn more from the Department of Defense.A2016 report to the DoD on long-term health effects due to participation in these tests concluded that although effects of the individual agents had been established in the literature, test subjects would have endured lower concentrations for shorter durations and no significant effects had been observed in the health of test subjects in the years since the tests occurred. There is no VA environmental health registry associated with Edgewood/Aberdeen chemical tests. About 260 subjects were experimentally exposed to various psychochemicals including phencyclidine (PCP), and 10 related synthetic analogs of the active ingredient of cannabis (NRC 1984). After all, the Edgewood experimenters were focused on disabling soldiers in combat, where there would be tactical value simply in disabling the enemy.[8]. Vets feel abandoned after secret drug experiments, Former sergeant seeks compensation for LSD testing at Edgewood Arsenal, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Edgewood_Arsenal_human_experiments&oldid=1124810855, Development evaluation and test procedures, Effects of drugs and environmental stress on human physiological mechanisms, Human factors tests (ability to follow instructions), Other (visual studies, sleep deprivation, etc. The first story in this report focused on race-based experiments done as part of the military's chemical warfare program: Cavell, now 88 years old, says the officer threatened him and the other test subjects: If they told anyone about their knowledge or participation in the experiments, they would receive a dishonorable discharge and be sent to military prison at Fort Leavenworth, Kan. "They put the fear of God in just a bunch of young kids," he says. 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