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:''For some time now, the international community has been alarmed by continuing reports that the Soviet Union and its allies have been using lethal chemical weapons in Laos, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan. ... We have now found physical evidence from Southeast Asia which has been analyzed and found to contain abnormally high levels of three potent mycotoxins--poisonous substances not indigenous to the region and which are highly toxic to man and animals.''
:''For some time now, the international community has been alarmed by continuing reports that the Soviet Union and its allies have been using lethal chemical weapons in Laos, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan. ... We have now found physical evidence from Southeast Asia which has been analyzed and found to contain abnormally high levels of three potent mycotoxins--poisonous substances not indigenous to the region and which are highly toxic to man and animals.''


These mycotoxin analyzes were reported in the scientific literature in 1983 and 1984 and reported small amounts of mycotoxins ranging from the [[parts per million]] to traces in the [[parts per billion]] range.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mirocha CJ, Pawlosky RA, Chatterjee K, Watson S, Hayes W |title=Analysis for Fusarium toxins in various samples implicated in biological warfare in Southeast Asia |journal=J Assoc Off Anal Chem |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=1485–99 |year=1983 |month=November |pmid=6643363}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Rosen RT, Rosen JD |title=Presence of four Fusarium mycotoxins and synthetic material in 'yellow rain'. Evidence for the use of chemical weapons in Laos |journal=Biomed. Mass Spectrom. |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=443–50 |year=1982 |month=October |pmid=6216925 |doi=10.1002/bms.1200091007}}</ref> The lowest possible [[limit of detection]] in these mycotoxin analyzes is in the parts per billion range.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Koch P |title=State of the art of trichothecenes analysis |journal=Toxicol. Lett. |volume=153 |issue=1 |pages=109–12 |year=2004 |month=October |pmid=15342087 |doi=10.1016/j.toxlet.2004.04.027}}</ref> However, several inconsistencies in these reports caused a "prolonged, and at times acrimonious, debate on the validity of the analyses".<ref name=Black/>
These accusations prompted a [[United Nations]] investigation in Pakistan and Thailand, which involved interviews with alleged witnesses and analysis of samples purported to come from Afganistan and Cambodia. The interviews produced conflicting testimony and the analyses of the samples were inconclusive, the team reported that they were unable to verify that chemical weapons had been used but noted that circumstantial evidence "suggestive of the possible use of some sort of toxic chemical substance in some instances."<ref>[http://disarmament.un.org/library.nsf/866a73aac712273f8525757d004de1c4/acf7b082e8b749718525760f006aa79c/$FILE/A-37-259.pdf Report of the Secretary-General on Chemical and Bacteriological (Biological). Weapons], U.N. Doc. A/37/259, at 26-41 (Dec. 1, 1982)</ref>
The US mycotoxin analyzes were reported in the scientific literature in 1983 and 1984 and reported small amounts of mycotoxins ranging from the [[parts per million]] to traces in the [[parts per billion]] range.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Mirocha CJ, Pawlosky RA, Chatterjee K, Watson S, Hayes W |title=Analysis for Fusarium toxins in various samples implicated in biological warfare in Southeast Asia |journal=J Assoc Off Anal Chem |volume=66 |issue=6 |pages=1485–99 |year=1983 |month=November |pmid=6643363}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |author=Rosen RT, Rosen JD |title=Presence of four Fusarium mycotoxins and synthetic material in 'yellow rain'. Evidence for the use of chemical weapons in Laos |journal=Biomed. Mass Spectrom. |volume=9 |issue=10 |pages=443–50 |year=1982 |month=October |pmid=6216925 |doi=10.1002/bms.1200091007}}</ref> The lowest possible [[limit of detection]] in these mycotoxin analyzes is in the parts per billion range.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Koch P |title=State of the art of trichothecenes analysis |journal=Toxicol. Lett. |volume=153 |issue=1 |pages=109–12 |year=2004 |month=October |pmid=15342087 |doi=10.1016/j.toxlet.2004.04.027}}</ref> However, several inconsistencies in these reports caused a "prolonged, and at times acrimonious, debate on the validity of the analyses".<ref name=Black/>


==Investigation==
==Investigation==

Revision as of 04:48, 12 February 2010

Yellow rain was a political incident in which Alexander Haig accused the Soviet Union of supplying T-2 mycotoxin to the Communist regimes in Vietnam and Laos for use in counterinsurgency warfare.[1] Samples supplied to independent scientists turned out to be honeybee feces,[2] and these allegations are now generally regarded as false.[3] Indeed, a 2003 review of the history of biological warfare described the "yellow rain" allegations as one of many cases where states have produced propaganda containing false or unsubstantiated accusations of the use of biological weapons by their enemies.[4] As of 2002, the US government has not withdrawn these allegations.[5]

Allegations

The charges stemmed from events in Laos and Vietnam beginning in 1975, when the two governments, which were allied with and supported by the Soviet Union, retaliated against Hmong tribes, peoples who had sided with the United States during the Vietnam War. Refugees described events that they believed to be chemical warfare attacks by low-flying aircraft; most of the reports were of a yellow, oily liquid that the Hmong dubbed "yellow rain". Those exposed claimed neurological and physical symptoms including seizures, blindness, and bleeding. Similar reports came from the Vietnamese invasion of Cambodia in 1978.[6] A 1997 report produced by the U.S. Army Medical Department stated that over ten thousand people were killed in attacks using chemical weapons in Laos, Cambodia and Afghanistan.[7] The descriptions of the attacks were diverse and included air-dropped canisters and sprays, booby traps, artillery shells, rockets and grenades that produced droplets of liquid, dust, powders, smoke or "insect-like" materials of a yellow, red, green, white or brown color.[7]

Secretary of State Alexander Haig announced in September 1981 that:

For some time now, the international community has been alarmed by continuing reports that the Soviet Union and its allies have been using lethal chemical weapons in Laos, Kampuchea, and Afghanistan. ... We have now found physical evidence from Southeast Asia which has been analyzed and found to contain abnormally high levels of three potent mycotoxins--poisonous substances not indigenous to the region and which are highly toxic to man and animals.

These accusations prompted a United Nations investigation in Pakistan and Thailand, which involved interviews with alleged witnesses and analysis of samples purported to come from Afganistan and Cambodia. The interviews produced conflicting testimony and the analyses of the samples were inconclusive, the team reported that they were unable to verify that chemical weapons had been used but noted that circumstantial evidence "suggestive of the possible use of some sort of toxic chemical substance in some instances."[8]

The US mycotoxin analyzes were reported in the scientific literature in 1983 and 1984 and reported small amounts of mycotoxins ranging from the parts per million to traces in the parts per billion range.[9][10] The lowest possible limit of detection in these mycotoxin analyzes is in the parts per billion range.[11] However, several inconsistencies in these reports caused a "prolonged, and at times acrimonious, debate on the validity of the analyses".[12]

Investigation

In 1983, these charges were disputed by Harvard biologist and biological weapons opponent Matthew Meselson and his team, who traveled to Laos and conducted a separate investigation. Meselson's team noted that trichothecene mycotoxins occur naturally in the region and questioned the witness testimony. He suggested an alternate hypothesis that the yellow rain was the harmless fecal matter of honeybees.[2] The Meselson team offered the following as evidence: separate "yellow rain drops" which occurred on the same leaf, and which were "accepted as authentic", consisted largely of pollen; each drop contained a different mix of pollen grains, as one would expect if they came from different bees, and the grains showed properties characteristic of pollen digested by bees (the protein inside the pollen grain was gone, while the outer indigestible shell remained).[13] Further, the pollen mix came from plant species typical of the area where a drop was collected.[14][15] The US government responded to these findings by arguing that the pollen was added deliberately, in order to make a substance that could be easily inhaled and "ensure the retention of toxins in the human body".[5] Meselson responded to this idea by stating that it is rather far-fetched to imagine that somebody could produce a chemical weapon by "gathering pollen predigested by honeybees."[15]

Analyzes of putative "yellow rain" samples by the British, French and Swedish governments confirmed the presence of pollen and failed to find any trace of mycotoxins.[5][16] Toxicology studies questioned the reliability of reports stating that mycotoxins had been detected in alleged victims up to two months after exposure, since these compounds are unstable in the body and be cleared from the blood in just a few hours.[12] Surveys also showed that both mycotoxin-producing fungi and mycotoxin contamination were common in Southeast Asia, casting doubt on the assertion that detecting these compounds was an unusual occurrence.[17][18] For example, a Canadian military laboratory found mycotoxins in the blood of five people from the area who had never been exposed to yellow rain, out of 270 tested, but none in the blood of ten alleged victims,[19][15] and a 1988 paper reported that illnesses from mycotoxin exposure may pose a serious threat to public health in Malaysia.[20] It is now recognized that mycotoxin contamination of foods such as wheat and maize is a common problem, particularly in temperate regions of the world.[18][21]

Later freedom of information requests showed that field investigations in 1983-85 by US government teams had produced no evidence to substantiate the allegations and instead cast doubt on the reliability of the initial reports, however these critical reports were not released to the public.[22] A 1992 review published in Politics and the Life Sciences described the idea of yellow rain as a biological agent as conclusively disproved and called for an assessment by the US government of the mistakes made in this episode, stating that "the present approach of sweeping the matter under the rug and hoping people will forget about it could be counterproductive."[19] Similarly, a 1997 review of the history of biological warfare published in the Journal of the American Medical Association stated that the yellow rain allegations are "widely regarded as erroneous".[3] However, as of 1997 the US Army maintains that some experts believe that "trichothecenes were used as biological weapons in Southeast Asia and Afghanistan" although they concede that "it has not been possible for the United States to prove unequivocally that trichothecene mycotoxins were used as biological weapons."[7]

Later events

An episode of mass pollen release from bees in 2002 in Sangrampur, India, prompted unfounded fears of a chemical weapons attack, although this was in fact due to a mass migration of giant Asian honeybees. This event revived memories of what New Scientist described as "cold war paranoia", noting that the Wall Street Journal covered these 1980's allegations in particular detail.[23] The Wall Street Journal continues to assert that the Soviet Union used yellow rain as a chemical weapon in the 1980s and in 2003 accused Matthew Meselson of "excusing away evidence of Soviet violations."[24]

In the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq the Wall Street Journal alleged that Saddam Hussein possessed a chemical weapon called "yellow rain".[25] The Iraqis appear to have investigated mycotoxins in 1990, but did not produce a functional weapon from these compounds.[26] Henry Wilde, a retired US Foreign Service Officer has drawn parallels between the use of yellow rain allegations by the US government against the Soviet Union and the later exaggerated allegations on the topic of Iraq and weapons of mass destruction.[27] Wilde considers it likely that states may again "use rumors and false or planted intelligence of such weapons use for propaganda purposes." in the future and calls for the establishment of a more rigorous inspection process to deal with such claims.[27]

See also

References

  1. ^ Tucker, JB (2001). "The "Yellow Rain" controversy: lessons for arms control compliance" (PDF). The Nonproliferation Review.
  2. ^ a b "Yellow Rain Falls". New York Times. September 3, 1987. Retrieved 2009-01-02. In 1981 Alexander Haig, then Secretary of State, announced that the United States had physical evidence of chemical warfare in Southeast Asia. ... At first, only one voice was raised in question. By persistent inquiry, Matthew Meselson, a Harvard biologist, developed another explanation: Yellow rain is the excrement of jungle bees. It's yellow from digested pollen grains, and it rains down from swarms of bees too high to be seen. His theory turns out to be exactly right. The Government's own studies, still unpublished, prove that the source is bees, not bombs. {{cite news}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
  3. ^ a b Christopher GW, Cieslak TJ, Pavlin JA, Eitzen EM (1997). "Biological warfare. A historical perspective". JAMA. 278 (5): 412–7. PMID 9244333. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  4. ^ Frischknecht F (2003). "The history of biological warfare. Human experimentation, modern nightmares and lone madmen in the twentieth century". EMBO Rep. 4 Spec No: S47–52. doi:10.1038/sj.embor.embor849. PMC 1326439. PMID 12789407. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  5. ^ a b c Guillemin, Jeanne (2002-03). "The 1979 Anthrax Epidemic in the USSR: Applied Science and Political Controversy". Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society. 146 (1): 18–36. ISSN 0003-049X. Retrieved 2010-02-12. {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help) Cite error: The named reference "Guillemin" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  6. ^ "Conflicting Evidence Revives "Yellow Rain" Controversy". James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies. Retrieved 2009-05-31. Eyewitnesses claimed that Yellow Rain smelled like gunpowder and left a residue of sticky yellow spots on leaves, rocks, and rooftops. Exposure to high doses reportedly caused heavy bleeding from the nose and gums, blindness, tremors, seizures, other neurological symptoms, and death. Similar incidents were reported in Democratic Kampuchea (Cambodia) in 1978, after the Vietnamese Army invaded that country to topple the dictator Pol Pot and his murderous Khmer Rouge regime.
  7. ^ a b c RW Wannemacher, SL Wiener (1997). "Trichothecene mycotoxins: in Medical Aspects of Chemical and Biological Warfare" (PDF). U.S. Army Medical Department. Retrieved Feb 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  8. ^ Report of the Secretary-General on Chemical and Bacteriological (Biological). Weapons, U.N. Doc. A/37/259, at 26-41 (Dec. 1, 1982)
  9. ^ Mirocha CJ, Pawlosky RA, Chatterjee K, Watson S, Hayes W (1983). "Analysis for Fusarium toxins in various samples implicated in biological warfare in Southeast Asia". J Assoc Off Anal Chem. 66 (6): 1485–99. PMID 6643363. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Rosen RT, Rosen JD (1982). "Presence of four Fusarium mycotoxins and synthetic material in 'yellow rain'. Evidence for the use of chemical weapons in Laos". Biomed. Mass Spectrom. 9 (10): 443–50. doi:10.1002/bms.1200091007. PMID 6216925. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Koch P (2004). "State of the art of trichothecenes analysis". Toxicol. Lett. 153 (1): 109–12. doi:10.1016/j.toxlet.2004.04.027. PMID 15342087. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  12. ^ a b Black RM (2009). "History and perspectives of bioanalytical methods for chemical warfare agent detection". J Chromatogr B Analyt Technol Biomed Life Sci. doi:10.1016/j.jchromb.2009.11.025. PMID 20018570. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  13. ^ Nowicke JW, Meselson M (1984). "Yellow rain--a palynological analysis". Nature. 309 (5965): 205–6. doi:10.1038/309205a0. PMID 6717598.
  14. ^ Earl C. (1984). "Yellow rain: Thai bees' faeces found". Nature. 308 (5959): 485. doi:10.1038/308485b0. PMID 6709055.
  15. ^ a b c Marshall E. (1986). "Yellow rain evidence slowly whittled away". Science (New York, N.Y.). 233 (4759): 18–9. doi:10.1126/science.3715471. PMID 3715471. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  16. ^ "Yellow rain: British analyses find no toxin". Nature. 321 (6069): 459. 1986. doi:10.1038/321459b0. PMID 3713819.
  17. ^ Greenhalgh R, Miller JD, Neish GA, Schiefer HB (1985). "Toxigenic Potential of Some Fusarium Isolates from Southeast Asia". Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 50 (2): 550–552. PMC 238662. PMID 16346873. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. ^ a b Desjardins AE (2009). "From yellow rain to green wheat: 25 years of trichothecene biosynthesis research". J. Agric. Food Chem. 57 (11): 4478–84. doi:10.1021/jf9003847. PMID 19385595. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  19. ^ a b Barss, Peter (1992-02). "Epidemic Field Investigation as Applied to Allegations of Chemical, Biological, or Toxin Warfare". Politics and the Life Sciences. 11 (1): 5–22. ISSN 0730-9384. JSTOR 4235825. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Check date values in: |date= (help)
  20. ^ Salleh B, Strange RN (1988). "Toxigenicity of some fusaria associated with plant and human diseases in the Malaysian peninsula". J. Gen. Microbiol. 134 (3): 841–7. PMID 3183622. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  21. ^ Desjardins AE, Hohn TM, McCormick SP (1993). "Trichothecene biosynthesis in Fusarium species: chemistry, genetics, and significance". Microbiol. Rev. 57 (3): 595–604. PMC 372927. PMID 8246841. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  22. ^ "Declassified Cables Add to Doubts About U.S. Disclosures on 'Yellow Rain'". New York Times. 1987. Retrieved Feb 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  23. ^ Fred Pearce (2002). "Green rain over India evokes memories of cold war paranoia". New Scientist. Retrieved Feb 2010. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
  24. ^ Bartley, Robert (February 24, 2003). "Two Decades of Warnings, And Now Duct Tape: We've long known the dangers of bio warfare". wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  25. ^ Bryen, Stephen D. (2002-12-09). "Opinion: Ironic Chemistry: The U.N. Boosts Saddam's Threat". wsj.com. Retrieved 2010-02-12.
  26. ^ Zilinskas RA (1997). "Iraq's biological weapons. The past as future?" (PDF). JAMA. 278 (5): 418–24. PMID 9244334. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  27. ^ a b Wilde, Henry (2008). "The "Yellow Rain" controversy: are there lessons from the past?" (PDF). Asian Biomedicine. 2 (5): 421–429. Retrieved 2010-02-10.
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