Chemical and Biological Defense: DOD Needs to Continue to Collect and Provide Information on Tests and on Potentially Exposed Personnel
GAO-04-410
Published: May 14, 2004. Publicly Released: May 14, 2004.
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Highlights
In the 1962-74 time period, the Department of Defense (DOD) conducted a classified chemical and biological warfare test program--Project 112--that might have exposed service members and civilian personnel to chemical or biological agents. In 2000 the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) began obtaining information from DOD about the program. Concerned that veterans and others might have health problems from exposure during Project 112 and similar DOD tests, Congress required DOD in the 2003 Defense Authorization Act to identify Project 112 tests and personnel potentially expose--service members and the number of civilian personnel--and other chemical and biological tests that might have exposed service members. GAO was required by the act and subsequent guidance from the congressional requesters to evaluate (1) DOD's process to identify the Project 112 tests and the service members and the number of civilian personnel potentially exposed, (2) DOD's progress in identifying similar tests outside Project 112, and (3) VA's progress in notifying DOD identified veterans.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct appropriate office(s) to determine the feasibility of addressing unresolved issues associated with Project 112 and the appropriateness of and responsibility for reporting new information, such as the identification of additional potentially exposed service members, civilian employees, contractors, and foreign nationals who participated in the tests. | In our report entitled CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL DEFENSE: DOD Needs to Continue to Collect and Provide Information on Tests and Potentially Exposed Personnel (GAO-04-410), we recommended that DOD determine the feasibility of addressing unresolved issues associated with Project 112 (a series of chemical and biological tests conducted in the 1960s and 1970s) and the appropriateness of and responsibility for reporting new information, such as the identification of additional potentially exposed service members, civilian employees, contractors, and foreign nationals who participated in the tests. As of February 28, 2005, DOD reported that it believed it had exhausted all reasonable sources of... information to identify Project 112 military participants, although it remains open to the receipt of relevant additional documentation from veterans for the purpose of certifying them as Project 112 participants. However, DOD has decided not to pursue the identification of non-military personnel other than to identify the number of civilians possibly affected by Project 112 tests because (1) these were knowledgeable participants in the tests and (2) the statute of limitations for filing workmen's compensation claims related to Project 112 tests has long passed. DOD has therefore determined it has no intent to establish reporting channels for such participants. DOD has therefore addressed the recommendation that it determine the feasibility and its responsibility for continuing identifications of military personnel as well as others potentially exposed by Project 112 tests.
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct appropriate office(s) to finalize and implement a plan for identifying DOD projects and tests conducted outside Project 112 that might have exposed service members to chemical or biological agents and ensure that the plan addresses the scope, reporting requirements, milestones, and responsibilities for those involved in completing this effort. | Our report recommended that the Secretary of Defense direct the appropriate office to finalize and implement a plan for identifying DOD projects and tests conducted outside Project 112 that might have exposed service members to chemical or biological agents. In reporting the status of DOD actions to implement our recommendation, the DOD Inspector General's Office (DODIG) reported that the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Chemical and Biological Defense was responsible for finalizing a plan to work with veterans and veterans service organizations to identify projects and tests conducted by facilities other than the Desert Test Center (Project 112) that may have exposed service members to...
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| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should direct appropriate office(s) to designate a single point of contact for providing VA, individuals, and other interested parties such as foreign governments, as appropriate, with information related to tests and potential exposures in and outside Project 112. | We reported that, while DOD made a reasonable effort to identify Project 112 tests and the service members who might have been exposed, the Department was only in the preliminary stages of a mandated second investigation identifying tests outside Project 112 that might have exposed service members. We also reported that DOD has not designated what office will serve as the primary point of contact for providing information relating to tests inside and outside Project 112. We concluded that this situation could result in DOD's having no single point of contact for providing information--including the additional identification of personnel potentially exposed--to the Department of Veterans'...
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Topics
Biological agentsBiological warfareChemical agentsChemical exposureChemical warfareCivilian employeesHealth hazardsMilitary personnelMilitary personnel recordsRecordsReporting requirementsTestingVeterans