Military Research Hazards to Veterans: Lessons Spanning More than Half a Century

Following is a 1994 U.S. Senate report authored by Dr. Diana Zuckerman and published by U.S. Senator John D. Rockefeller, entitled, “IS MILITARY RESEARCH HAZARDOUS TO VETERANS’ HEALTH? LESSONS SPANNING HALF A CENTURY.” 

The full report is available from a link at the bottom of this 91outcomes’ front page.

New VA officials in the Obama Administration should familiarize themselves with this report.  Gulf War veterans have been intimately familiar with it since it was released in 1994, and recognize that their experience has been part of a long history of similar experiences that have continued through to the present time.

Benzene-laden drinking water that still flows into homes at Camp Lejeune, N.C., burn pits that are still being used in Iraq (and probably Afghanistan), and hazardous chemical plant exposures at Qarmat Ali are among just a few of the unaddressed hazardous military exposures of the present era.

Read, and remember.

-Anthony Hardie, 91outcomes Publisher/Editor

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Military Human Experimentation Protocol

103d Congress, 2d Session – COMMITTEE PRINT – S. Prt. 103-97

IS MILITARY RESEARCH HAZARDOUS TO VETERANS’ HEALTH? LESSONS
SPANNING HALF A CENTURY

A STAFF REPORT PREPARED FOR THE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS

UNITED STATES SENATE DECEMBER 8, 1994

JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West Virginia, Chairman

DENNIS DeCONCINI, Arizona
GEORGE J. MITCHELL, Maine
BOB GRAHAM, Florida
DANIEL K. AKAKA, Hawaii
THOMAS A. DASCHLE, South Dakota
BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL, Colorado
FRANK H. MURKOWSKI, Alaska
STROM THURMOND, South Carolina
ALAN K. SIMPSON, Wyoming
ARLEN SPECTER, Pennsylvania
JAMES M. JEFFORDS, Vermont

Jim Gottlieb, Chief Counsel/Staff Director
John H. Moseman, Minority Staff Director/Chief Counsel
Diana M. Zuckerman, Professional Staff Member
Patricia Olson, Congressional Science Fellow

FOREWORD

U.S. Senate, Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Washington, DC,
December 8, 1994

During the last few years, the public has become aware of several
examples where U.S. Government researchers intentionally exposed
Americans to potentially dangerous substances without their
knowledge or consent. The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs,
which I have been privileged to chair from 1993-94, has conducted
a comprehensive analysis of the extent to which veterans
participated in such research while they were serving in the U.S.
military. This resulted in two hearings, on May 6, 1994, and
August 5, 1994.

This report, written by the majority staff of the Committee, is
the result of that comprehensive investigation, and is intended
to provide information for future deliberations by the Congress.
The findings and conclusions contained in this report are those
of the majority staff and do not necessarily reflect the views of
the members of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

This report would not have been possible without the dedication
and expertise of Dr. Patricia Olson, who, as a Congressional
Science Fellow, worked tirelessly on this investigation and
report, and the keen intelligence, energy, and commitment of Dr.
Diana Zuckerman, who directed this effort.

John D. Rockefeller IV, Chairman

CONTENTS

I. Introduction

II. Background

*  A. Codes, declarations, and laws governing human
experimentation.
*  B. Mustard gas and lewisite
*  C. Seventh-Day Adventists
*  D. Dugway Proving Ground
*  E. Radiation exposure
*  F. Hallucinogens
*  G. Investigational drugs

III. Findings and conclusions

A. For at least 50 years, DOD has intentionally exposed
military personnel to potentially dangerous substances,
often in secret

B. DOD has repeatedly failed to comply with required ethical
standards when using human subjects in military research
during war or threat of war

C. DOD incorrectly claims that since their goal was
treatment, the use of investigational drugs in the Persian
Gulf War was not research

D. DOD used investigational drugs in the Persian Gulf War in
ways that were not effective

E. DOD did not know whether pyridostigmine bromide would be
safe for use by U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf War

F. When U.S. troops were sent to the Persian Gulf in 1994,
DOD still did not have proof that pyridostigmine bromide
was safe for use as an antidote enhancer

G. Pyridostigmine may be more dangerous in combination with
pesticides and other exposures

H. The safety of the botulism vaccine was not established
prior to the Persian Gulf War

I. Records of anthrax vaccinations are not suitable to
evaluate safety

J. Army regulations exempt informed consent for volunteers
in some types of military research

K. DOD and DVA have repeatedly failed to provide information
and medical followup to those who participate in military
research or are ordered to take investigational drugs

L. The Federal Government has failed to support scientific
studies that provide information about the reproductive
problems experienced by veterans who were intentionally
exposed to potentially dangerous substances

M. The Federal Government has failed to support scientific
studies that provide timely information for compensation
decisions regarding military personnel who were harmed by
various exposures

N. Participation in military research is rarely included in
military medical records, making it impossible to support
a veteran’s claim for service-connected disabilities from
military research

O. DOD has demonstrated a pattern of misrepresenting the
danger of various military exposures that continues today