history The history of biological warfare The history of biological warfare by Friedrich Frischknecht EMBO Rep. 2003 Jun; 4(Suppl 1): S47–S52. doi: 10.1038/sj.embor.embor849 407 Building 407 closed down at Fort Detrick In the United states Fort Detrick is the center of the Germ Warfare industry. A the peak of cold war psychosis in 1953 Fort Strrisk built building 407 which held two 2500 gallon fermenting vats for research of production of Anthrax for dirty bombs. The large scale facilities to produce actual munitions were in Indiana and Utah, this was just for research. Nixon shut all this down in 1969 when he announced the US wold abandon bioweapons and this was all handed over to the National Cancer Institute part of Nixon's declared war on Cancer. But there had been a 2000 gallon leak at one point and the idea persisted that anthrax, which can remain dormant in soil for years, might be lurking in the building somewhere. Even a single virus spore can cause infection in humans. The army disinfected and tested the building and declared it was safe for human occupation - just don't ever renovate. Contaminants are the major problem with dedicate medical research and the idea Anthrax might be in the walls didn't resonate well with cancer researchers. By some remarkable coincidence the building, meant to house something far more terrifying than the Los Alamos laboratory where the hydrogen bomb was developed, was falling apart, the steel beams were corroding and he mortar was falling apart so the building was torn down. It never was occupied once the Anthrax cookers had been taken out in 1969

smallpox President Bush announces vaccines for everyone for smallpox again. President Bush lays out plans for smallpox vaccination in the United States; 500,000 frontline military are to be vaccinated, along with one million health-care workers. The President himself is vaccinated and calls for voluntary vaccination of over 400,000 doctors, nurses, and emergency workers to begin in January 2003. The general public is to begin vaccination in 2004 or later. KoreaFiles The US National Archives Collection relating to The Korean War Record Group 175 Records of the Chemical Warfare Service - Page 59 II.212 The Chemical Warfare Service (CWS), established in June 1918, was responsible during World War II for the research, development, manufacture, and procurement of smoke and incendiary materials, toxic gases, bacteriological warfare agents, and protective equipment and devices against the same agents. CWS also organized, equipped, and trained chemical warfare units, supervised Army training in chemical warfare, and administered special schools. From 1939 to 1942 CWS was a technical service reporting directly to the Chief of Staff of the U.S. Army. In March 1942 CWS functioned as a subordinate agency directed by the Commanding General, Services of Supply (later designated the Army Service Forces). In August 1946 the Chemical Warfare Service was renamed the Chemical Corps. In 1950, the Corps was transferred to the office of the Assistant Chief of Staff, G-4 (Logistics). From October 1, 1949 until July 31, 1951, Maj. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe served as Chief of the Chemical Corps; Maj. Gen. Egbert F. Bullene succeeded him in August 1951 and held the position for the remainder of the war. CWS records pertaining to the Korean War that are in National Archives custody consist mostly of central files maintained by the Office of the Chief Chemical Officer. CWS records are also located among the files of other Army organizations. There are, for example, some relevant chemical warfare files in records of the Far East Command Chemical Section (see paragraphs II.508–II.509), records of the Eighth U.S. Army Chemical Section (see paragraph II.389) and records of specific “nonorganic” chemical units attached to either of these commands (see paragraph II.415, RG 336 and RG 407, Records of Nonorganic Units). National Archives RG 175 accessions include few of the project and test report records series that constitute an abundant part of other Army technical service agency record groups such as RG 92 (Quartermaster) and RG 156 (Ordnance). II.213 Records of the Office of the Chief Chemical Officer, 1946–54 [UD, Entries 1A-B] (262 ft.), are arranged by year, thereunder by former security classification (unclassified, confidential, and secret), and thereunder according to the War Department decimal file system (except for the secret files, which were assigned individual document control numbers instead of decimal file numbers). There are also subseries of station files, miscellaneous files, and commercial files (all arranged by year and thereunder by former security classification); unclassified budget files; and unclassified patent files (both arranged by year). The Army Chemical Corps was assigned primary responsibility for research and development in the fields of biological warfare, chemical warfare, and the dissemination of radiological warfare agents. Records from the Korean War occur throughout this series under headings such as Army regulations (decimal 300.3), special regulations (SRs) (300.3), field manuals (300.7), technical manuals (decimal 300.7), procurement records (400.12), tables of allowances (400.34), and tables of organization and equipment (400.34). Other decimal files include lists of research and development projects, test results, and training requirements. The miscellaneous files subseries includes files of the Far East Command and other entities such as the Chemical Corps Board, the Chemical Corps Materiel Command, and the Chemical Corps Technical Committee. The station files include records pertaining to Pine Bluff and Rocky Mountain Arsenals, Edgewood Proving Ground, and the Army Chemical Center. All records are declassified. A box list is available for use in the Textual Research Room in College Park, MD, or upon request. II.214 Minutes of meetings of the Chemical Corps Technical Committee, 1935–63 [UD, Entry 2] (4 ft.), are arranged chronologically. The Committee met in order to establish priority research and development projects and provide justifications for the continuation or cancellation of projects. The minutes include discussions, recommendations, and concurrences relating to biological, chemical, and radiological projects. During the Korean War, the committee agenda included topics such as waterproofing protective masks, flame thrower development, requirements for chemical munitions, reclassification of guided missile materiel, obsolete smoke grenades and smoke bombs, protective clothing policies, reclassification of various chemicals, and gas rockets. II.215 Historians background files, 1922–67 [A1, Entry 6] (8 ft.), are arranged by type of file or creating unit. These records cover a variety of records deemed of interest to the organizational historian, including general orders and memorandums of the Army Chemical Center during the Korean War-era. A box list is available for use in the Textual Research Room in College Park, MD, or upon request.