Chemical Weapons: DOD Does Not Have a Strategy to Address Low-Level Exposures
Highlights
Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the Department of Defense's (DOD) approach for addressing U.S. troop exposures to low levels of chemical warfare agents during the Gulf War, focusing on: (1) the extent to which the DOD doctrine addresses exposures to low levels of chemical warfare agents; (2) the extent to which research addresses the performance and health effects of exposures to low levels of chemical warfare agents, either in isolation or combination with other agents and contaminants that would be likely found on the battlefield; and (3) the portion of resources in DOD's chemical and biological defense research, development, test, and evaluation (RDT&E) program explicitly directed at low-level chemical warfare agent exposures.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Defense | The Secretary of Defense should develop an integrated strategy for comprehensively addressing force protection issues resulting from low-level chemical warfare agent exposures. The strategy for addressing force protection issues should address, at a minimum, the desirability of an Office of the Secretary of Defense policy on the protection of troops from low-level chemical warfare agent exposures, including: (1) the appropriateness of addressing low-level chemical warfare agent exposures in doctrine; (2) the need for enhanced low-level chemical warfare agent detection, identification, and protection capabilities; (3) the research needed to fully understand the risks posed by exposures to low levels of chemical warfare agents, in isolation and in combination with other contaminants that would be likely found on the battlefield; and (4) the respective risks, cost, and benefits of addressing low-level chemical warfare agent exposures within DOD's chemical and biological defense program. |
The Department of Defense (DOD) has developed a 5-year research plan to determine the effects of chronic and low-dose exposures to chemical warfare agents. DOD's research plan was requested in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1999 based on GAO's findings that DOD had not developed doctrine that addresses low-level exposures to chemical agents, either in isolation or in combination with other contaminants found on the battlefield. GAO had found that the absence of DOD doctrine was attributable, in part, to the lack of a consensus on the effects of low-level exposures. Research findings will enable DOD to establish chemical defense doctrine and policy regarding chronic and low-level exposures.
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