biology

United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories

United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories is a biology topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories rather than just read about it. In short: The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) was a suite of research laboratories and pilot plant centers operating at Camp (later Fort) Detrick, Maryland, United States, beginning in 1943 under the control of the U.S.

Key takeaways

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Reference excerpt

The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) was a suite of research laboratories and pilot plant centers operating at Camp (later Fort) Detrick, Maryland, United States, beginning in 1943 under the control of the U.S. Army Chemical Corps Research and Development Command. The USBWL undertook research and development into biocontainment, decontamination, gaseous sterilization, and agent production and purification for the U.S. offensive biological warfare program. The laboratories and their projects were discontinued in 1969.

History

Origins The USBWL was created after Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson requested the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) in 1941 to review the feasibility of biological warfare (BW). The following year, the NAS reported that BW might be feasible and recommended that steps be taken to reduce U.S. vulnerability to BW attacks. After that, the official policy of the United States was first to deter the use of BW against U.S. forces and secondarily to retaliate if deterrence failed.

World War II Throughout the war years, Dr. Ira L. Baldwin, professor of bacteriology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, was scientific director of the Laboratories.

Cold War The USBWL were the United States' front-line defense against BW during the first half of the Cold War.

Disestablishment In 1969, the USBWL ceased to exist when President Richard Nixon disestablished all offensive BW studies and directed the destruction of all stockpiles of BW agents and munitions.

Operations At Fort Detrick, the USBWL consisted of various labs and divisions, including:

The Safety "S" Division, first to be activated (1943) Biological Protection Branch The Special Operations (or Projects) Division (1949–68), the most highly classified work Conducted hundreds of field tests of aerosolized simulants; Investigated and developed drugs for use in "brainwashing" and interrogation Planning Pilot-Engineering (PP-E) Division The Crops Division (called "Plant Sciences Laboratories" after 1966), evaluated thousands of compounds for herbicidal activity (including Agent Orange; see Herbicidal warfare) The Basic Science [Division?] Division B, pursued anthrax vaccine work The USBWL was also a parent facility overseeing testing and production centers elsewhere, including:

Pine Bluff Arsenal, Arkansas Horn Island, Mississippi Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, including Granite Peak Installation Vigo Ordnance Plant, near Terre Haute, Indiana

Work-related deaths Three deaths related to occupational bio-agent exposures occurred during the USBWL program. (Additionally, an unnamed lieutenant died in a pump explosion in Building 201 in 1943.)

William Allen Boyles, a 46-year-old microbiologist, contracted anthrax and died on 25 November 1951. Boyles Street, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor. His internal organs were harvested after his death to isolate the anthrax contained in them. Joel Eugene Willard, a 53-year-old electrician, died in 1958 after contracting pulmonary anthrax. Willard Place, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor. Albert Nickel, a 53-year-old animal caretaker, died in 1964 after being bitten by an animal infected with Machupo virus. Nickel Place, on Fort Detrick, is named in his honor. The army made details of these deaths public in 1975.

Reunions The "Fort Detrick Reunion Group" met most years between 1991 and 2008 when they disbanded for lack of participants. When they met at Nallin Pond in 1994, their numbers peaked at 400. They consisted of a diverse group of USBWL participants ranging from animal caretakers to top scientists.

See also Building 470 Fort Terry One-Million-Liter Test Sphere

References

Illustrations

United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories: Researchers working with Class III cabinets at the USBWL, Camp Detrick, Maryland (1940s). Cabinet air was filtered and drawn by negative pressure from the room and cabinet systems. — Researchers working with Class III cabinets at the USBWL, Camp Detrick, Maryland (1940s). Cabinet air was filtered and drawn by negative pressure from the room and cabinet systems.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In biology, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories

In research: United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories appears in biology research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1969 disestablishments in Maryland, Biological warfare facilities, Former medical research facilities of the United States Army, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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Frequently asked questions

What is United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories in simple terms?

Why does United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories matter?

Because it connects several biology ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on United States Army Biological Warfare Laboratories.