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19.SECRET ARMY CHEMICAL-DISPERSION TESTS OVER DALLAS, ST. LOUIS, AND OTHER AMERI
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4. When you are talking about planes spraying chemicals on us from the sky, use this information to make your point.
5. Chemtrails proven.
6. No regard for life. They used these test I bet for the spraying in later years.
The two Dallas Morning News articles dated August 14, 1980 reveal that the U.S. Army conducted secret atmospheric-dispersion experiments in and around Dallas during the Cold War. The Army released microscopic fluorescent particles of zinc cadmium sulfide, usually abbreviated ZnCdS, to study how a cloud resembling a biological-warfare aerosol would travel through populated areas.
The experiments were not attacks involving an active chemical-warfare agent. ZnCdS was a tracer intended to behave in the air like microscopic biological particles. Nevertheless, the public was generally not informed, and cadmium is toxic under sufficient exposure. Later investigations examined whether the experiments could have caused kidney damage, bone disease, lung cancer, reproductive problems, or deaths.
The most important qualification is this: residents have reported cancers, kidney disease, unusual illnesses, and premature deaths in several test communities, especially St. Louis. However, government and National Research Council reviews said the reconstructed exposure levels were probably too low to produce those effects. No comprehensive epidemiological study has ever established—or definitively excluded—a causal relationship for individual illnesses. Missing records and the passage of decades make absolute conclusions difficult.
What the Dallas newspaper disclosed in 1980
The first article, “Dallas used in 34 tests,” was written by Barbara Strong and published in The Dallas Morning News on August 14, 1980.
The article reported that the Army used Dallas and surrounding communities as a testing ground for fluorescent zinc cadmium sulfide particles. It said the experiments had been revealed through a report obtained under the Freedom of Information Act.
The particles appeared bright yellow or green under ultraviolet light. By placing collection devices throughout the countryside, investigators could measure where the invisible aerosol traveled and how concentrated it became.
According to the article:
- The testing included Dallas and areas west and
southwest of the city. - Instrumentation was placed on a tall television
tower at Cedar Hill. - The Army wanted to determine whether a simulated
biological-warfare cloud could move through and around an American city. - The aerosol reportedly traveled as far as
approximately 30 miles during some tower studies. - Earlier tests elsewhere had shown that particles
released in one location could be detected hundreds or even more than
1,000 miles away. - Army representatives maintained that the exposure
presented little or no danger. - The article nevertheless acknowledged that
cadmium exposure at sufficient levels could damage the kidneys.
The headline’s “34 tests” should not be interpreted to mean that only 34 individual releases occurred at Cedar Hill. Army records divided the work into test programs, field tests, trials, and individual releases. Those categories were frequently counted differently.
The National Research Council’s later reconstruction identifies 37 separate releases during the Dallas Tower Studies alone, conducted in three periods during April, June, and August 1961. Earlier WINDSOC-related work and the much larger Texas area experiments of 1959–1960 were separate or overlapping programs.
The Cedar Hill television-tower experiments
What actually came from the tower?
The available technical record corrects an important possible misunderstanding in the newspaper account.
The Cedar Hill television tower was principally an instrumented observation and sampling tower. In the best-documented 1961 Dallas Tower Studies, ZnCdS was released from a light aircraft flying upwind of the tower—not sprayed downward from the tower itself.
Collectors were installed at different heights on the tower to measure how the cloud moved vertically. Additional samplers were placed on the ground along several lines radiating away from Cedar Hill.
Therefore, it is more accurate to say:
The Army released the tracer from aircraft around Cedar Hill and measured the passing cloud from instruments on the television tower and throughout the surrounding countryside.
Earlier regional studies also used the tower as an elevated sampling station. Because only fragments of the original reports survived, it cannot be categorically stated that no release equipment was ever operated from a Texas tower. But the reconstructed National Research Council record describes the Cedar Hill tower as a measuring station.
Area covered
The 1961 test site was contained within a 30-mile radius of a 1,420-foot television tower at Cedar Hill, approximately 15 miles southwest of Dallas.
A 30-mile-radius circle represents a potential study region of approximately:
That does not mean every part of those 2,827 square miles received the same amount—or any measurable amount—during every release. The actual plume depended upon wind direction, altitude, weather, and the aircraft’s flight path.
The aircraft made crosswind passes:
- Between approximately one and seven miles upwind
of the tower - Along flight lines measuring approximately nine
to 26 miles - At heights between 360 and 1,050 feet above the
base of the tower
Five downwind sampling lines extended south, southwest, west, northwest, and north of the tower. A separate crosswind line was approximately 25 miles from the tower. The surviving report unfortunately does not identify every community reached by each cloud or provide complete exposure figures. National Research Council Dallas Tower reconstruction
What the Army was trying to learn
The official purpose was to compare:
- Atmospheric turbulence
- Wind speed and direction
- Temperature
- Release altitude
- Vertical diffusion
- Distance traveled
- Particle concentration at different heights
The military value was much broader. The experiments helped estimate how a hostile biological-warfare aerosol might spread across a city and how much material would be required to cover a designated target.
The National Research Council concluded that the publicly stated meteorological research was real, but the underlying military purpose was to develop models for biological-warfare attacks, including possible attacks against Soviet cities. National Academies historical review
WINDSOC I and WINDSOC II
What “WINDSOC” meant
WINDSOC was the name associated with a series of large-area atmospheric tests in Texas. It should not be confused with an ordinary cloth windsock. The program involved a network of weather instruments and fluorescent-particle collectors intended to map the movement of a very large aerosol cloud.
The contemporary Dallas article divides the work into approximately:
- WINDSOC I — 1959
- WINDSOC II — 1960
The Army’s surviving records are incomplete, and later reconstructions sometimes apply the name WINDSOC to the Corpus Christi/coastal component while contemporary reporting used it more broadly for the Texas regional operations. That difference in terminology explains why various sources give different locations and counts.
WINDSOC I
The first phase began in August 1959. A C-119 military transport aircraft—known as a “Flying Boxcar”—released ZnCdS while flying along a long line on the upwind side of a large Central and North Texas sampling area.
The overall test grid measured approximately 125 by 125 miles, or:
It included or approached:
- Dallas
- Fort Worth
- Waco
- Fort Hood, now Fort Cavazos
- Cedar Hill
- Numerous smaller communities between those
locations
The release flight line was approximately 200 miles long, extending beyond the edges of the main test grid. Consequently, communities outside the 125-by-125-mile grid could have received portions of the plume.
The surviving Army summary indicates approximately:
- Test 1, August 1959: about 900 pounds
- Test 2, August 1959: approximately 640–900 pounds
- Test 3, August 1959: approximately 640 pounds
- Tests 4–8, October 1959: approximately 640 pounds
per test
These are estimated releases based on incomplete surviving documents. The aircraft generally released approximately 3.2 pounds per mile after the initial trials.
WINDSOC II
The winter phase was conducted in February 1960. The surviving report identifies Tests 9 through 13, each apparently involving approximately 640 pounds of ZnCdS.
During these trials:
- Five samplers were installed on the Cedar
Hill-area television tower. - The samplers were positioned at approximately
300, 600, 900, 1,200, and 1,400 feet above ground. - Eighty-four ground-sampling stations were
distributed through the Texas test area. - Balloon sampling was conducted near Fort Hood
during some trials. - Four small L-20 aircraft carried additional
sampling equipment. - The C-119 released particles at approximately
600–1,300 feet above ground.
The newspaper states that the cloud could be detected as far as 120 miles north and approximately 12 miles from the tower during particular observations. That does not necessarily define the limit of the entire cloud; it describes where monitoring equipment recorded it during specified releases.
The National Research Council found that important pages of the original WINDSOC reports were missing. As a result, it could not reconstruct reliable maximum concentrations or individual doses for the Texas regional tests. National Research Council exposure appendix
Could zinc cadmium sulfide damage the kidneys?
Why cadmium causes concern
Cadmium is a toxic metal. Sufficient exposure to soluble or bioavailable cadmium compounds can accumulate in the kidneys and produce:
- Renal tubular damage
- Protein in the urine
- Reduced kidney function
- Bone weakening
- Lung injury after inhalation
- Increased lung-cancer risk after long-term
occupational inhalation
That is the basis for the kidney warning in the 1980 article.
ZnCdS contained approximately 15.6% cadmium by weight, but the toxicity question is more complicated than simply treating all of that cadmium as immediately available. ZnCdS is poorly soluble, so only some portion—possibly very little—might be absorbed into the bloodstream.
National Research Council conclusion
The National Research Council found no studies directly measuring the effects of repeated human exposure to ZnCdS. It therefore examined a deliberately conservative worst-case assumption: what if all cadmium in the compound behaved like more soluble cadmium?
Under that hypothetical scenario, repeated exposure could produce:
- Kidney toxicity
- Bone toxicity
- Lung cancer
But the committee concluded that the reconstructed Army-test exposures were too small and too brief for those outcomes to be likely. It also recommended research into whether particles retained in the lungs might gradually break down into more absorbable cadmium compounds. National Research Council health assessment
That conclusion should be read with its limitations:
- Some Army records were missing.
- Individual residents’ actual exposures were never
measured. - No medical records were collected when the tests
occurred. - Residents were not identified and followed over
subsequent decades. - Exposure levels were reconstructed from military
sampling equipment, not personal monitors. - The committee said many concentration estimates
were accurate only within a factor of two—and some possibly only within a
factor of ten.
St. Louis experiments
St. Louis experienced two major periods of ZnCdS testing.
The 1953 tests
The earlier series included 35 releases during 17 field tests in 1953. Releases were made from:
- Stationary generators
- Rooftops
- The backs of trucks or station wagons
- Moving vehicles traveling through city streets
Most releases lasted approximately five minutes, although citywide releases followed routes several miles long.
Two primary central-city test sections were designated “How Area” and “Item Area.” These covered portions of downtown and nearby residential-commercial neighborhoods.
The particles entered buildings even when windows were closed. Army investigators specifically placed samplers inside and outside buildings to measure penetration.
The 1963–1965 tests
A second St. Louis program ran from May 1963 through March 1965. It included 42 releases in seven experimental series.
Motorized blowers were installed at multiple locations. Some devices were placed on buildings in or near the predominantly Black Pruitt-Igoe public-housing complex. Residents remembered seeing clouds or powder but were not told that the work simulated biological-warfare dispersal.
Records reviewed by the National Research Council estimate that as much as approximately 984 kilograms—more than one ton—could have been released if the apparatus operated at its maximum documented rate throughout the experimental periods.
Why St. Louis was selected
Official records say St. Louis was chosen because:
- It was a large inland city.
- Its terrain was comparatively flat.
- Weather-radar support was available.
- An urban air-pollution study was already
underway. - It possessed characteristics useful for
comparison with possible Soviet targets.
The St. Louis program was therefore not merely a general pollution experiment. It supplied data for estimating urban biological-warfare dispersion.
Reports of illnesses and deaths
Former Pruitt-Igoe residents have reported:
- Cancers
- Kidney and other organ disease
- Convulsions
- Tumors
- Reproductive difficulties
- Unusually early deaths
- Chronic illnesses among family members
Ben Phillips and Chester Deanes, who grew up at Pruitt-Igoe, have publicly requested new health studies, environmental testing, compensation, and a government apology. Phillips reported that his mother died of cancer, his sister experienced unexplained convulsions, and he developed a benign tumor that damaged his hearing. Deanes described serious illnesses and premature deaths among relatives and acquaintances.
These experiences are genuine health reports, but the scientific record has not established that ZnCdS caused them. An independent epidemiological study capable of comparing confirmed individual exposure with later disease was never completed. The National Research Council concluded that such a study decades later would be extremely difficult because residents had dispersed and precise exposure records did not exist. Associated Press investigation
Allegation of radioactive material
Sociologist Lisa Martino-Taylor later raised the possibility that St. Louis experiments involved radioactive material. Available records show discussions or planning concerning radiological tracers, but publicly available documentation has not established that radioactive material was actually dispersed at Pruitt-Igoe together with ZnCdS.
This remains an allegation requiring additional documentary or physical evidence. ZnCdS itself is not radioactive.
Known ZnCdS test locations
The National Research Council found that ZnCdS was released from aircraft, ships, rooftops, towers or elevated platforms, stationary generators, and moving vehicles. Its master table contains the following documented locations and programs:
The table documents 33 named urban or rural locations and numerous component sites. Counting entire regional operations, cities within a plume, test grids, or individual release sites produces larger lists. The contemporary figure of “34 tests” refers to programs or field-test groupings rather than 34 total aerosol releases. The National Research Council’s table alone documents hundreds of releases. Complete National Research Council test table
Other biological simulants were sometimes released
The ZnCdS experiments were part of a broader vulnerability-testing program. In some places, the Army also released microorganisms then considered harmless, including:
- Serratia marcescens
- Bacillus globigii, now generally associated with Bacillus
atrophaeus - Species of Aspergillus
These organisms were intended to imitate biological-warfare agents without causing disease. Later medicine established that some can produce opportunistic infections in people with weakened immune systems.
The National Research Council’s 1997 ZnCdS study did not evaluate the health consequences of simultaneous or separate microbial releases because that was outside its assigned task. Therefore, its conclusion about low ZnCdS risk cannot automatically be applied to every microbial test.
The best-known disputed death associated with a biological-simulant experiment occurred after the Navy’s 1950 San Francisco trial involving Serratia marcescens. Several hospital patients developed unusual Serratia infections and one, Edward Nevin, died. A later lawsuit did not prove that the military release caused the infection, but the timing and unusual outbreak have remained controversial.
No comparable documented death has been scientifically attributed specifically to ZnCdS exposure in Dallas, Cedar Hill, or St. Louis.
Operation LAC: the enormous scale of the program
Operation LAC—Large Area Coverage—was conducted principally in 1957 and 1958. A C-119 aircraft released thousands of pounds of fluorescent particles during flights hundreds of miles long.
The test region extended:
- From the Rocky Mountains toward the Atlantic
- From Canada to the Gulf of Mexico
- Across thousands of square miles during
individual operations
Particles were reportedly detected as far as approximately 1,200 miles from certain release areas. The operation demonstrated that an aerosol cloud released along a long aircraft route could be transported across state and national boundaries.
The Army’s historical assessment described LAC as proof that biological-warfare agents could theoretically cover thousands of square miles. That fact makes clear that the experiments were more than ordinary weather studies.
Was anyone shown to have been killed or injured?
What is documented
It is documented that:
- People were unknowingly present in test areas.
- ZnCdS contained cadmium.
- Cadmium can damage the kidneys and other organs
at sufficient doses. - Residents later reported serious diseases and
premature deaths. - Some records were missing or remained unavailable
to later investigators. - No system was created to track exposed residents’
health. - Some tests also involved microbial simulants
whose risks were underestimated at the time.
What has not been established
It has not been scientifically established that:
- ZnCdS from the Dallas or Cedar Hill tests caused
a particular person’s kidney disease. - The St. Louis ZnCdS releases caused a documented
cancer cluster. - A specific Dallas, Cedar Hill, or St. Louis death
resulted from ZnCdS. - Radioactive material was dispersed at
Pruitt-Igoe. - The material was deliberately released with the
purpose of injuring residents.
Government and independent conclusions
The Army repeatedly described the danger as negligible or “almost non-existent.” The 1997 National Research Council review similarly concluded that harmful effects were highly unlikely at the reconstructed doses.
However, the National Research Council also acknowledged that:
- Important exposure records were missing.
- ZnCdS itself had not been adequately studied.
- The long-term behavior of inhaled particles in
human lungs was uncertain. - Individual exposure could not be reconstructed
reliably. - A conclusive epidemiological study was probably
no longer feasible.
Thus, “no proven injury” is not the same as proof that every exposed person was unharmed.
Final assessment
The Dallas, Cedar Hill, WINDSOC, and St. Louis experiments were genuine secret military vulnerability tests. The public was used as an unknowingly exposed population while the Army studied how simulated biological-warfare clouds moved through American cities.
In Dallas, the best available records show massive regional aircraft releases in 1959–1960, followed by 37 aircraft releases around the Cedar Hill television tower in 1961. The tower was mainly a vertical sampling station. The regional WINDSOC grid covered approximately 15,625 square miles, while the Dallas Tower Studies used a 30-mile-radius area of roughly 2,827 square miles.
Cadmium can unquestionably damage the kidneys at sufficient exposure, but the central unresolved issue is dose and biological availability. Later reviewers believed the Army’s ZnCdS exposures were too low to cause kidney disease, bone damage, or cancer. Yet incomplete records, absence of informed consent, failure to conduct long-term medical monitoring, and the use of vulnerable urban populations—particularly at Pruitt-Igoe—remain serious ethical and historical concerns.
- The testing included Dallas and areas west and