Posts Tagged ‘OSHA’
Psychoactive Agents Research Chemical Warfare Edgewood Maryland 1950s US Army
Beginning in the mid-1950s, the U.S. Army conducted research involving thousands of human subjects on various chemical agents, including LSD, BZ and marijuana derivatives, to assess their utility for chemical warfare applications. Army doctors gave soldier volunteers synthetic marijuana, LSD, BZ and other psychoactive drugs during experiments aimed at developing chemical weapons that could incapacitate enemy soldiers. The program, which ran at the Army’s Edgewood, Md., arsenal from 1955 until about 1972, concluded that counterculture staples such as acid and pot were either too unpredictable or too mellow to be useful as weapons. One of the leading participants in that enterprise, Dr. James S. Ketchum, has published a memoir entitled “Chemical Warfare: Secrets Almost Forgotten.” (http://www.forgottensecrets.net/ ), a detailed autobiographical reconstruction of the Edgewood Arsenal program of evaluating possible incapacitating agents in human volunteers (enlisted men) during the 1960s. This clip is from the 1950s episode, the Unseen Weapon, from the The Big Picture documentary television program which ran on the American Broadcasting Company from 1953 to 1959. The program consisted of documentary films produced by the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service
Duration : 0:0:58
History of Chemical Warfare
The use of poisons that could be considered chemical weapons (CW) dates to antiquity. During the Peloponnesian War (431-404 BC), for example, the Spartans used arsenic smoke. A millennium later at the siege of Constantinople (637 AD), the Byzantine Greeks employed “Greek Fire” – a mixture of petroleum, pitch sulfur and resins. The first modern use of CW, however, occurred during the First World War. At the second battle of Ypres in April 1915, the German army released hundreds of tons of chlorine gas. Thousands of Allied troops were killed or wounded in the gas cloud attacks, including nearly 7,000 Canadians (1,000 dead and 5,975 injured). The British war poet Wilfred Owen described the horror of seeing a fellow soldier guttering, choking, drowning, as if under a green sea of chlorine gas. Throughout the war, both the Allied and the Central Powers developed toxic chemical warfare agents and the means to deliver them. They also refined their tactical doctrines to take into account the new reality of chemical warfare. By 1918, the World War I battlefield was saturated with a variety of persistent and non-persistent chemicals, which caused casualties among troops and increased the danger and difficulty of military operations. By the end of the First World War, approximately 125,000 tons of toxic chemicals had been used, causing more than 1.3 million casualties, including more than 100,000 deaths. To this day, live rounds of World War I chemical munitions remain buried beneath the battlefields of Europe. While the consequences of the use of gas during the war – images of wounded and blinded men waiting in long lines to be given medical assistance – created in the general public a visceral loathing of chemical weapons, the development and use of CW continued throughout the twentieth century. Italian troops employed chemical weapons during their invasion of Ethiopia (1935-1936) while Japan used CW during its war with China (1937-1945). During the Second World War, both the Allied countries (including Canada) and Axis powers developed a significant inventory of chemical weapons; the lack of effective large-scale delivery systems played a part in the decision of both sides not to use them (another powerful constraint was the fear of retaliation). Egypt used chemical weapons in North Yemen (1963-1967) and both Iraq and Iran employed CW during the Gulf War (1983-1988). It wasnt until 29 April 1997, after long and difficult negotiations, that the International Chemical Weapons Convention entered into force. By banning these weapons, the Convention heralded the beginning of the work to destroy the stockpiles that had been amassed. April 29 is Remembrance Day to pay tribute to the victims of chemical warfare. The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW)( http://www.opcw.org/ ) is the implementing body of the Chemical Weapons Convention. The OPCW is given the mandate to achieve the object and purpose of the Convention, to ensure the implementation of its provisions, including those for international verification of compliance with it, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among States Parties. This clip is from the 1950s episode, the Unseen Weapon, from the The Big Picture documentary television program which ran on the American Broadcasting Company from 1953 to 1959. The program consisted of documentary films produced by the United States Army Signal Corps Army Pictorial Service.
Duration : 0:1:6
Routes of Exposure to Hazardous Materials 1950
Some hazardous materials are not harmful by any route of exposure, while others are harmful by some or all of the routes of exposure. Inhalation (Breathing) – Chemicals in the air can be inhaled into the body through the mouth or nose. In the workplace airborne chemicals may occur in different forms such as gases, vapours, dusts or mists. Skin Contact -Many chemicals can cause direct effects at the point of contact with the skin. Some chemicals can be absorbed into the body through the skin. Eye Contact – Chemicals can also come in contact with the eyes as dusts, mists, gases ,vapours,or when liquids are splashed.Some chemicals can be absorbed through the eyes causing harmful effects elsewhere in the body. Ingestion (Swallowing) – Chemicals can be ingested through the mouth. In workplaces, ingestion can result from hand-to-mouth contact, consuming contaminated food or drink, or smoking cigarettes that have come into contact with a chemical or unclean hands. Sometimes workplace chemicals are accidentally swallowed. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
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How Much is A Safe Dose1950
In 2003, the US Biologic Effects of Ionizing Radiation Report, BEIR VII, developed the most up-to-date and comprehensive risk estimates for cancer and other health effects from exposure to low-level ionizing radiation. It was among the first reports of its kind to include detailed estimates for cancer incidence in addition to cancer mortality. In general, BEIR VII supports previously reported risk estimates for cancer and leukemia, but the availability of new and more extensive data have strengthened confidence in these estimates. A comprehensive review of available biological and biophysical data supports a linear-no-threshold (LNT) risk model—that the risk of cancer proceeds in a linear fashion at lower doses without a threshold and that the smallest dose has the potential to cause a small increase in risk to humans. The report is available from the National Academies Press at http://dels.nas.edu/dels/rpt_briefs/beir_vii_final.pdf . This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
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Surviving an Atomic Blast 1950
This is clipped from a military training film on how soldiers can survive and atomic attack. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:3:27
You’ve Gotten Out of the Danger Zone 1950
One of the greatest threats to the life and health of people in the vicinity of a nuclear explosion is exposure to radioactive fallout. People may be exposed to dangerous levels of fallout in the moderate damage (MD) and light damage (LD) zones, and further out to 10 or 20 miles in the dangerous fallout (DF) zone. In the case of widespread fallout, the primary protective actions are to take shelter and to evacuate. Evacuation reduces time spent exposed to radiation; the goal, of course, is to avoid exposure. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:0:8
Be Quick or Be Sick in a Contaminated Area 1950
One of the greatest threats to the life and health of people in the vicinity of a nuclear explosion is exposure to radioactive fallout. People may be exposed to dangerous levels of fallout in the moderate damage (MD) and light damage (LD) zones, and further out to 10 or 20 miles in the dangerous fallout (DF) zone. In the case of widespread fallout, the primary protective actions are to take shelter and to evacuate. Evacuation reduces time spent exposed to radiation; the goal, of course, is to avoid exposure. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:0:12
The Area is Free From Dangerous Radiation 1950
An amazingly optimistic view of the aftermath of a nuclear attack. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:0:21
How to Protect Yourself from an Atomic Blast 1950
One of the greatest threats to the life and health of people in the vicinity of a nuclear explosion is exposure to radioactive fallout. People may be exposed to dangerous levels of fallout in the moderate damage (MD) and light damage (LD) zones, and further out to 10 or 20 miles in the dangerous fallout (DF) zone. There are two principle actions that may be taken to protect the public from fallout: taking shelter and evacuation. The standard ways to reduce radiation exposure are as follows: reduce time in the zone, increase distance from the source of radiation (the fallout), and/or use of dense materials (like concrete, brick, or earth) as shielding against the radiation. In the case of widespread fallout, the primary protective actions are to take shelter and to evacuate. Evacuation reduces time spent exposed to radiation; the goal, of course, is to avoid exposure. Sheltering protects people by providing shielding and increasing distance from fallout, especially in the center of a large building. For much more, go to the planning guide at http://www.remm.nlm.gov/planning-guidance.pdf . This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:1:22
Decontamination After an Atomic Blast 1950
Contamination occurs when an unwanted material remains on or inside the patient. External contamination is located on the surface of the body. This form of contamination is usually easily managed. Radioactive materials are not especially difficult to remove. In most cases, soap and water will remove the external contamination that may be located in the skin or hair. This is clipped from the 1950 film, Self Preservation In an Atomic Attack, produced for the US Armed Forces Special Weapons Project and available at the Internet Archives.
Duration : 0:0:37