Biological Simulants

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

[I received the following query from Peter Downs <pdowns@reporters.net>]

Next summer, the Army Chemical School will move to Missouri and begin
training exercises here for detecting biological agents. An Army public
information officer told me that would involve spraying bacillus
subtillus and Kaolin dust
outside (the training site is in a national forest) to train personnel
in
handling the detection equipment. He says they are quite safe.

Do you know if there are any health or environmental hazards associated
with those 'simulants'?

[When I asked for more information, Peter sent the following:]

Appendix IV to the Biological Risk Assessment of the Ecological Risk
Assessment that the Army prepared for its simulations states that:
"Bacillus subtillus is aerobic and very common in soil. Though it may
occasionally cause infections of the eye, lung, and soft tissues, B.
subtillus is generally harmless to man... B. subtillus is also used in
laundry detergents. It can be a severe eye irritant and is poisonous via
intraperitoneal exposure... Data for environmental fate were not
included
because the organism is a naturally occurring species. Bacillus is not
expected to be pathogenic or toxic to aquatic organisms, wild mammals,
or
non-target insects including honey bees."

"Kaolin, the purest form of clay, is formed naturally from decomposition
of
feldspar minerals. It is a hydrated aluminum silicate that is non-toxic
and
non-combustible."

I guess my question is whether there is reputable information that
Bacillus
and Kaolin are not as benign as the Army indicates, since the Army has
not
always been forthright about health and environmental hazards.

Thanks,

Peter Downs

Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 222B View St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/968-1126
lsiegel@cpeo.org