[CPEO-MEF] HERBICIDES: Ft. Detrick's (MD) history of Agent Orange testing

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Report details Agent Orange use at Fort Detrick

By Megan Eckstein
Frederick News-Post (MD)
February 23, 2011

Fort Detrick has released a preliminary archive search report on its  
past Agent Orange use as the Kristen Renee Foundation began to ramp  
up its efforts to prove that the Army post caused a cancer cluster in  
Frederick.

According to the report, which was posted online Tuesday, the U.S.  
Army Corps of Engineers found that Fort Detrick tested an estimated  
16.82 pounds of Agent Orange and similar defoliants between 1944 and  
1951.

In a news release, Fort Detrick noted that the amount tested was  
relatively small.

"During 1969 alone, the national average for use of the exact same  
chemical was roughly 1.12 pounds per acre, which equates to more than  
8.9 million pounds used nationwide to include farm, lawn care, right  
of way, private property, aquatic area applications," the news  
release states. "There is no difference in the compounds used by the  
military during this time and those that were commercially available."

Fort Detrick's preliminary report is based on annual special reports,  
which chronicle scientific research. The archived records show that  
the Chemical Warfare Service at Fort Detrick in 1944 gave the Plant  
Research Branch "the mission of developing chemical agents to destroy  
or reduce the value of crops." This mission led to the creation of a  
number of chemicals in the Agent Orange family.

...

For the entire article, see
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm? 
StoryID=117158

See also

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers readjusts estimate of amount of Agent  
Orange used by Fort Detrick
Originally published February 24, 2011


By Stephanie Mlot
Frederick News-Post (MD)
February 24, 2011

About 20 to 30 pounds of an Agent Orange ingredient may have been  
sprayed by the Army on sections of Fort Detrick between 1944 and  
1968, according to a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers official.

Randal Curtis, program manager for the St. Louis district of USACE,  
said at Wednesday night's Fort Detrick Restoration Advisory Board  
meeting that the 16.82 pounds previously reported may conceivably be  
lower than what was actually used.

...

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm? 
StoryID=117228

And also

Maryland lawmakers call for cancer-cluster study
Originally published February 25, 2011


By Meg Tully
Frederick News-Post (MD)
February 25, 2011

ANNAPOLIS - Three state senators are calling for further studies of a  
possible cancer cluster around Fort Detrick and other possible cancer  
clusters throughout the state.
Sen. Anthony Muse, a Prince George's County Democrat, is sponsoring  
legislation that calls for the state Department of Health and Mental  
Hygiene to do a detailed study into potential environmental causes of  
cancer, including toxins in the air, water or soil. Sens. Jamie  
Raskin and Joanne Benson, both Democrats, are co-sponsoring the bill.
Muse said Thursday he considers research that has already been done  
by a citizen group at Fort Detrick in Frederick a "microcosm" of  
challenges faced by communities throughout the stat
...

For the entire article, see
http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm? 
StoryID=117265

--

Lenny Siegel
Executive Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
a project of the Pacific Studies Center
278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org

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