/ck/ - Food & Cooking

Between its opening in 1962 and 1973 the Deseret Test Center was at the helm of Project 112,[4][5] a military operation aimed at evaluating chemical and biological weapons in differing environments.[5] The test began in the fall of 1962 and were considered "ambitious" by the Chemical Corps; the tests were conducted at sea, in Arctic environments and in tropical environments.[2] Tests were aimed at human, plant and animal reaction to the chemical and biological agents and were conducted in the United States, Liberia, Egypt, South Korea and Okinawa.[2] In total, Deseret planned 134 chemical and biological weapons tests, of those 46 were carried out and 62 were canceled.[5]

The tests of Project 112, and the related seaborne Project SHAD, were kept secret until October 2002.[6] Many tests occurred on U.S. soil and released live biological agents, chemical agents or their simulants.[6] In total, according to the reporting of CBS News, more than 5,000 soldiers and sailors were involved in the secret tests, many of them unknowingly.[7] From 1963-1965 there were 18 tests involving biological simulants, usually Bacillus globigii (BG).[4] BG was used to simulate dangerous agents, such as anthrax; once thought harmless to humans, research in the intervening years has revealed some simulants can actually cause infection in those with weakened immune systems.[8] 14 separate tests were performed using VX, sarin, nerve agent simulants and tear gases.[4]