DoD corrects data on SHAD test "High Low" December 31, 2002 - WASHINGTON (DeploymentLINK) Since the Department of Defense began investigating the operational shipboard hazard and defense tests in September 2000, it has released fact sheets on 42 of the 46 shipboard and land-based tests. The Deseret Test Center test known as "High Low" was among the most recent fact sheets released in October 2002. Soon after the release, DoD received important phone calls from concerned veterans who thought the reported test dates were in error. High Low involved four ships - USS Berkely, USS Fechteler, USS Okanogan, and USS Wexford County. Classified test documents reviewed by DoD stated that the test took place between January 11 and February 26, 1966, off the coast of San Diego, California. That information was included in the High Low fact sheet. However, four crewmembers of the USS Berkely reported that their ship was off the coast of Vietnam between January 11 and February 26, 1966. Based on the veterans’ reports, DoD investigators reviewed the ship’s logs and confirmed the sailors’ recollections. The USS Berkely was in fact in the Gulf of Tonkin in January and February 1966. The four ships’ logs showed that High Low test was actually done in January and February 1965. The 1966 date in the Deseret Test Center’s final test report appears be a clerical error. Deployment Health Support staff contacted the veterans who called to let them know their information was officially confirmed and that the fact sheets would be corrected. "We are very grateful to the veterans for alerting us to the error, so we could correct it," Michael E. Kilpatrick, M.D., deputy director of DoD’s Deployment Health Support Directorate, said. "This only reemphasizes the importance of veteran input to our investigations, and we continue to encourage veterans who have valuable information to contact us through our direct hotline." DoD posts all declassified SHAD test information on line. These corrected dates for High Low are now listed on that web site: USS Berkeley: February 8-11 and 15, 1965 Shortly after the veterans reported the date discrepancy, DoD notified the VA that some of the information they had received might be in error. When the new dates were confirmed, DoD quickly gave that information to the VA. Changes in crewmembers’ status, based on the corrected dates, will be determined and provided to the VA. The VA will notify crewmembers of any change. The purpose of the High Low test was to assess the vulnerability of ships to an enveloping cloud of nerve agent. Methylacetoacetate was used to simulate sarin – the chemical warfare agent sarin was not used in the test. Acute exposure to methylacetoacetate has been associated with irritation of the skin, eyes, respiratory tract, and digestive tract. There is no scientific evidence of long-term or late-developing health effects. Also, according to test documents, the ships’ crews and civilian test personnel were instructed in the use of protective masks, and personnel directly exposed to significant quantities of methylacetoacetate wore masks. In the 1960s, the Department of Defense’s Deseret Test Center headquartered at Fort Douglas, Utah, conducted a series of operational chemical and biological warfare vulnerability exercises under Project 112. The shipboard subset of testing was Project SHAD. Some veterans believed that they might have been exposed to harmful substances during those tests. When veterans began filing benefit claims based on those suspected exposures, the Department of Veterans Affairs turned to DoD to get the facts. "Our investigation into these classified tests has required us to examine thousands of classified paper and microfiche documents and records," said Kilpatrick. "Piecing together this 40-year-old puzzle has been a painstaking and challenging process." The Defense Department has found evidence of 134 tests planned by the Deseret Test Center, and confirmed that at least 62 of those tests were never done. So far, DoD has released fact sheets on 42 of 46 tests that were done. Each of the fact sheets released contains the test dates, identification of ships and units involved, test locations, simulants/agents/decontaminants used, and test methods employed. DoD’s investigative team searched through classified, technical records in several locations to identify which ships, units and locations were involved in Deseret Test Center/Project 112/SHAD tests, when the tests took place, and what substances were used. The medically relevant information for each test was declassified and personnel information was obtained. The investigation into the Deseret Test Center/SHAD/Project 112 tests continues, in order to determine if the remaining 26 tests were conducted or were cancelled. DoD is committed to completing this investigation and releasing all medically relevant information on completed tests by June 2003. Veterans who believe they were involved in Deseret Test Center tests and desire medical evaluations should call the VA’s Helpline at (800) 749-8387. Veterans who have DoD related questions, who have information to contribute or who are DoD beneficiaries and have medical concerns or questions, should call DHSD’s contact center toll-free at (800) 497-6261. All Deseret Test Center fact sheets are available on the DeploymentLINK Web site at http://deploymentlink.osd.mil/current_issues/shad/shad_intro.shtml. |
