'Operation Sea-Spray': U.S. Gov't Secretly Sprays Deadly Bacteria Cloud on Americans in Bioweapons Experiment
Multiple infections and hospitalizations—at least one known death.
Big Picture
In a chilling revelation, a 1977 U.S. Senate Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research unearthed a decades-long covert biological testing program by the Department of Defense (DoD), exposing thousands of Americans to dangerous bacteria without their consent. Dubbed “Operation Sea-Spray,” these bioweapons experiments revealed a disturbing disregard for public safety and human rights under the guise of national security. Many believe this disregard was perpetrated during the COVID-19 pandemic, and some expect it during the potentially incoming bird flu pandemic.
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Why It Matters
The hearings, led by Senators Edward M. Kennedy and Richard S. Schweiker, disclosed that unwitting civilians were exposed to potentially deadly biological agents in public spaces, including major cities and military installations. These revelations underscore the urgent need for transparency and ethical oversight in government programs. Through the ‘PREP Act,’ the government can administer drugs and “biological products” without liability and in secret.
Key Findings
Unwitting Civilian Exposure: The DoD conducted open-air biological tests in densely populated areas such as San Francisco. A notable example is the 1950 test that released Serratia marcescens bacteria over the city. According to the hearing, the test aimed to determine “how far the material would disperse and how much of it would be living at the end of the journey.”
The bacteria, believed at the time to be harmless, resulted in several hospitalizations and the death of one person. Senator Schweiker cited a 1951 article from the AMA Archives of Internal Medicine reporting on 11 infections due to the bacteria, which was “consider[ed] to be a very unusual numerical outbreak.”
San Francisco Bay—A Testing Ground: During the tests, aerosols were released offshore and carried inland by the wind, forming bacterial clouds. Monitoring stations reported that bacteria traveled as far as 50 miles inland. Colonel Carruth explained, “We used a spray device to disseminate organism.” These clouds simulated biological attacks to study their dispersion and potential impact on urban populations.
Spike in Pneumonia Cases: Similar experiments in Fort McClellan, Alabama, in 1952 coincided with a significant spike in pneumonia cases. Senator Schweiker noted: “In 1951, pneumonia cases in Calhoun County represented 4.6% of the statewide total. In 1952, the percentage jumped to 12.3%. In 1953, it dropped back down to 4%.”
General Augerson stated, “As far as I know. Senator, I am not aware of any special surveillance system established to monitor the changes in the incident of various conditions in surrounding communities as part of that program. There may have been, but I am not aware of it.”
Pathogens Misclassified as Harmless: The DoD used Serratia marcescens in numerous tests despite evidence of its pathogenic potential. An internal meeting at Fort Detrick in 1952 raised concerns, yet testing continued until 1968. General Augerson stated, “It was not until 1969 in Lancet and in 1970 in the Journal of the American Medical Association that editorials were written bringing to the attention broadly of the medical profession the hazard of this organism.”
Secrecy and Lack of Accountability: The public was kept in the dark about these experiments for decades. Senator Kennedy noted, “Should a democratic people cede to its Government the full responsibility of determining when secret tests on unwitting subjects are necessary to protect the Nation’s security? How can public accountability be maintained when secrecy is a legitimate and necessary component of research on human subjects?” The same secrecy shrouds today’s public health emergency bills.
Historical Context
The biological testing program began in 1942 during World War II, with the National Academy of Sciences recommending the establishment of a biological warfare program. By 1944, the U.S. Army’s Chemical Warfare Service was assigned “total responsibility for the U.S. BW program,” according to Edward A. Miller, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Research and Development.
The program ramped up during the Cold War, with biological agents and simulants tested on government installations and public domains. Miller testified that the tests aimed to “develop knowledge necessary to prepare defensive measures.”
The Role of the Cloud
Central to these experiments was the use of bacterial clouds to simulate real-world biological attacks. Aerosolized bacteria were released into the environment, often offshore or in open areas, to study how wind and atmospheric conditions dispersed the organisms. Colonel Carruth confirmed the methodology, stating, “We used a spray device to disseminate organism.” In the San Francisco test, these clouds traveled miles inland, affecting populations far beyond the release point. The unpredictable nature of these dispersions amplified the risks, particularly in populated areas.
What They Said
“The American people have a right to know what is going on around them,” Senator Schweiker declared.
“Release in and near cities, in real-world circumstances, were considered essential to the program because the effect of a built-up area on a biological agent cloud was unknown,” Miller testified.
Senator Kennedy called the program “repugnant to our American system,” adding, “There should not be any further testing of any of these devices in the public domain.”
Video Source: DemocracyNow.org, “How the U.S. Government Exposed Thousands of Americans to Lethal Bacteria to Test Biological Warfare.”
Fallout
The hearings revealed that the DoD conducted 19 tests in public domains and 27 tests using non-biological simulants. Despite mounting evidence of the dangers posed by these experiments, no comprehensive monitoring or follow-up studies were conducted to assess their health impacts.
Bottom Line
“Operation Sea-Spray” is a sobering reminder of the ethical breaches and public endangerment that can occur when government programs operate under the veil of secrecy. The Senate hearings called for stronger protections for human subjects, greater public accountability, and an end to testing practices that put innocent lives at risk.
This raises pressing questions about whether such covert testing programs continue today. If they do, we would be as unaware now as Americans were then, left vulnerable to the same lack of transparency and accountability.
As Senator Kennedy warned, “The public cannot and will not support what it does not understand and what it learns by exposé. The interests of national security might have been better served by more public understanding and less concealment.”
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We must not be dying fast enough for them.
Generic or not, Tamiflu is hazardous