CANCELLATION ANALYSIS

DTC Test 70-30

DTC Test 70-30 was designed to gather data on the effect of sunlight on the aerosolized lifespan and infectivity of selected biological agents.1 The test designers planned to use the biological agents Francisella tualrensis2 (in both wet and dry forms), Coxiella burnetii3 (wet) and Staphyococcal enterotoxin B4 (dry) and the biological simulants Serratia marcescens, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilus var. niger (Bacillus globigii).5 On November 25, 1969, President Nixon renounced the use of biological weapons and limited research to purely defensive measures. The July 1970 report of joint operational activities recorded the test's status as deferred.6 This same status was reported in the March 1971 Deseret Test Center Annual Report of Joint Operational Activities.7 At the same time, the FY 72 Program Plan did not list the test or provide a projected funding stream even though it did provide such information for other biological program tests.8 Discussions at the annual joint planning conference three months later also did not mention DTC Test 70-30, but did announce the addition of Test 73-30 to the FY 73 schedule.9 DTC Test 73-30, a technical investigation10, was added in response to an Army requirement and had similar objectives to DTC Test 70-30.11 No further mention of DTC Test 70-30 is found in subsequent Deseret Test Center documentation.12 However, DTC Test 73-30 was conducted13, and together with DTC Test 70-7414 answered the Army requirement originally assigned to DTC Test 70-30.15 DTC Test 70-30 is therefore presumed to have been cancelled.

 

1 Deseret Test Center Plans for Testing in FY 70, February 1969, page 31.
2 Causes the disease tularemia.
3 Causes the disease Q fever.
4 Causes severe gastroenteritis for approximately 48 to 72 hours.
5 Op.cit., DTC Plans for Testing FY 70, pages 35-36.
6 Annual Status Report of Joint Operational Activities, Deseret Test Center, July 1970, page 31
7 Annual Status Report of Joint Operational Activities, Deseret Test Center, March 1971, page 27.
8 DTC Program for FY 72, March 1971, pages 3, 4 and 68.
9 Report of the Ninth Annual DTC CINCS/Services CB Coordination Conference, 22-24 June 1971, page 15.
10 A technical investigation was defined as a detailed evaluation of a joint CINC/Service requirement that did not involve the use of large amounts of actual warfare agents or munitions; would often be conducted with simulants and normally within the boundaries of a military installation while conforming to field requirements and conditions [Op.cit., DTC Program for FY 72, page 75.]
11 Op.cit., Ninth Coordination Conference, pages 16 and 3-2.
12 Deseret Test Center Outline Plans for FY 74, March 1972; Report of the Tenth Annual DTC CINCS/Services CB Coordination Conference, 18-19 April 1972; Semiannual Status Report, Deseret Test Center, January 1973; Deseret Test Center Outline Plans for FY 75, February 1975.
13 See DTC Test 73-30 Fact Sheet.
14 See DTC Test 70-74 Fact Sheet.
15 Deseret Test Center Outline Plans for FY 74, March 1972, page 95.