Human Experimentation: Agent Orange Spray Tested Off-Base by Fort Detrick Scientists

Human Experimentation: Agent Orange Spray Tested Off-Base by Fort Detrick Scientists

In 1952, according to the report, the Department of Army’s Chemical Corps Biological Laboratories at Detrick “initiated a major program to develop both the aerial spray equipment and herbicide formulations for potential deployment in the Korean Conflict.”

The 85-page report identifies Detrick as the primary research facility in herbicide research as a military tool. Drums of herbicide used in previous research were sent to Detrick in 1952, and scientists at the fort continued working on deployment systems and herbicides throughout the 1950s.

The initial work focused on aerial spray systems and “tactical” herbicides for military use as opposed to commercial use, the report states.

Later, continuing efforts at Detrick involved testing new spray equipment and formulations of the herbicides. After the close of the Korean War in 1957, Young writes in the report, Detrick scientists were involved with herbicidal tests on rice and grasses and with the evaluation of aerial application tests at Fort Ritchie, Md., Dugway, Utah, and Fort Drum, N.Y.