1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning: Difference between revisions
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The '''1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning''', also known as '''Le Pain Maudit''' was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of [[Pont-Saint-Esprit]] in southern [[France]]. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in [[psychiatric hospital|asylum]]s and 7 deaths. |
The '''1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning''', also known as '''Le Pain Maudit''' was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of [[Pont-Saint-Esprit]] in southern [[France]]. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in [[psychiatric hospital|asylum]]s and 7 deaths. A [[foodborne illness]], was suspected and among these, was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (''pain maudit''). Academic sources include the incident among examples of [[ergotism|ergot poisoning]]. Alternative theories suggest poisoning by [[Mercury (element)|mercury]], [[mycotoxins]], or [[nitrogen trichloride]].<ref name="BMJ1951">{{cite journal|doi=10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a |last1=Gabbai|last2=Lisbonne|last3=Pourquier|date=15 September 1951|title=Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit|journal=[[British Medical Journal]]|volume=2|issue=4732|pages=650–651|pmc=2069953|pmid=14869677}}</ref><ref name="Finger2001">{{cite book|last=Finger|first=Stanley|title=Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=_GMeW9E1IB4C&pg=PA221|accessdate=24 February 2013|year=2001|publisher=Oxford University Press|isbn=978-0-19-514694-3|page=221}}</ref><ref name="PommervilleAlcamo2013">{{cite book|last1=Pommerville|first1=Jeffrey C.|last2=Alcamo|first2=I. Edward|title=Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body systems edition|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=Uf_Hl3Exti8C&pg=PA734|accessdate=24 February 2013|year=2013|publisher=Jones & Bartlett Publishers|isbn=978-1-4496-0594-0|page=734}}</ref><ref name="Simonetta2010">{{cite book|editor1-first=Simonetta|editor1-last=Cavaciocchi|series=Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio|title=Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=zeyGOrJ7jjIC&pg=PA82|accessdate=24 February 2013|year=2010|publisher=Firenze University Press|isbn=978-88-8453-585-6|page=82}}</ref><ref name="Burwick2010">{{cite book|author=Frederick Burwick|title=Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination|url=http://books.google.com/books?id=M39-oYlJce0C&pg=PA180|accessdate=24 February 2013|date=1 November 2010|publisher=Penn State Press|isbn=978-0-271-04296-1|pages=180–}}</ref> Citing declassified U.S. Government documents, a more recent theory has been put forth that the incident was a large scale field test for a deriliant incapacitating agent under the direction of the United States during the Cold War. This theory as well as the suspicion of a connection between the incident and contaminated bread has been disputed. |
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==Ergot Poisoning== |
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== Other theories == |
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"Shortly after the incident, in September 1951, scientists writing in the highly respected ''British Medical Journal'' declared that “the outbreak of poisoning” was produced by ergot mold.<ref name="BMJ1951" /> The explanation was based upon the findings of biochemists dispatched to the scene from the nearby [[Sandoz Chemical Company]] in Basle, Switzerland."<ref name="Albarelli2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.voltairenet.org/article164447.html |title=CIA: What Really Happened in the quiet French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit |last1= Albarelli |first1=Hank P. Jr. |date=16 March 2010 |website=voltairenet.org |publisher=Voltaire Network |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Later investigations suggested [[mercury poisoning]] due to the use of [[Panogen]] or other [[fungicide]]s used to treat grains and seeds.<ref>[[Jonathan Ott]], ''Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History'' (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. [[Albert Hofmann]], ''LSD: My Problem Child'' (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), [http://www.lycaeum.org/books/books/my_problem_child/chapter1.html Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.]</ref> [[Paranormal]] researcher [[John G. Fuller]] asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.<ref name="Fuller1969">{{cite book |last=Fuller|first=John |title=The Day of St Anthony's Fire |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year= 1969 |isbn=0-09-095460-2}}</ref> |
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The victims appeared to have one common connection. They had eaten bread from the bakery of Roch Briand who was subsequently blamed for using flour made from rye. According to reports at the time, the flour had been contaminated by a fungus similar to the hallucinogenic drug [[Lysergic acid diethylamide]] ([[LSD]]). Following several inquiries and court actions, the exact cause of the incident has never been resolved. The baker Roch Briand was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. Problems with ergot contamination explanation have been challenged and "ruled out" by predominate contemporary investigators.<ref name="ABC2010">{{cite web |url=http://abcnews.go.com/Health/International/book-claims-cia-lsd-experiment-made-french-town/story?id=10171002 |title=Did CIA Experiment LSD on French Town? |last1=SCHPOLIANSKY |first1=CHRISTOPHE |date=23 March 2010 |website=ABCnews.com |publisher=ABC News |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref><ref name="BBC2010">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.com/news/world-10996838 |title=Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD?|last1= Thomson |first1= Mike|date=23 August 2010 |website=BBC.com |publisher=BBC News |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> |
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| ⚫ | Later investigations suggested [[mercury poisoning]] due to the use of [[Panogen]] or other [[fungicide]]s used to treat grains and seeds.<ref>[[Jonathan Ott]], ''Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History'' (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. [[Albert Hofmann]], ''LSD: My Problem Child'' (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), [http://www.lycaeum.org/books/books/my_problem_child/chapter1.html Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.]</ref> [[Paranormal]] researcher [[John G. Fuller]] citing the opinion of toxicologists, asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.<ref name="Fuller1969">{{cite book |last=Fuller|first=John |title=The Day of St Anthony's Fire |publisher=Hutchinson |location=London |year= 1969 |isbn=0-09-095460-2}}</ref> The mercury poisoning theory has also been "ruled out".<ref name="ABC2010" /> |
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In 1982, a French researcher suggested ''[[Aspergillus fumigatus]]'', a [[mycotoxin|toxic fungus]] produced in [[grain silo]]s, as a potential culprit.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Moreau|first=C.|year=1982|title=Les mycotoxines neurotropes de l'Aspergillus fumigatus; une hypothèse sur le "pain maudit" de Pont-Saint-Esprit|journal=Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France|issue=98|pages=261–273}}</ref> |
In 1982, a French researcher suggested ''[[Aspergillus fumigatus]]'', a [[mycotoxin|toxic fungus]] produced in [[grain silo]]s, as a potential culprit.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Moreau|first=C.|year=1982|title=Les mycotoxines neurotropes de l'Aspergillus fumigatus; une hypothèse sur le "pain maudit" de Pont-Saint-Esprit|journal=Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France|issue=98|pages=261–273}}</ref> |
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Various theories behind the Pont-Saint-Esprit incident were described in [[John Grant Fuller Jr.]]'s 1968 book ''The Day of Saint Anthony's Fire''. Ergot is a pre-cursor to LSD-25 which Fuller strongly suspected was the answer. He notes that a form of ergot was the likely culprit but that we may never know for certain because toxicologists and doctors could not reach an agreement. He concludes his book with a doctors opinion that "there is one and only one cause on the tragedy: some form of ergot and that form logically has to be akin to LSD."<ref name="Fuller1969" /> |
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In 2008, historian [[Steven Kaplan (historian)|Steven Kaplan]] published his book on the incident in the French Language entitled ''Le Pain Maudit''.<ref name=Kaplanbook>{{cite book|last=Kaplan|first=Steven|title=Le Pain Maudit|editor=[[Fayard]]|year=2008|isbn=978-2-213-63648-1}}</ref> Kaplan asserts that the incident was connected neither to LSD research nor to ergot poisoning and supports various other theories.<ref name="BBC2010" /> |
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In his 2009 book, ''A Terrible Mistake'', journalist Hank P. Albarelli Jr alleges that the Special Operations Division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tested the use of LSD on the population of Pont-Saint-Esprit as part of its [[MKULTRA|MKNAOMI]] chemical behavior program in a field test dubbed [[Project SPAN]]. Albarelli cites numerous declassified U.S. documents—some of which directly mention Pont St. Esprit, that tend to circumstantially support this theory.<ref name="ABC2010" /><ref name="BBC2010" /> |
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According to Albarelli, ergot poisoning was only a cover story. He notes that "Included in the contingent from Sandoz that suggested ergot contamination in 1951 was Dr. [[Albert Hofmann]], the man who had first synthesized LSD in 1938. Also noted by Fuller,<ref name="Fuller1969" /> at the time of the Sandoz group’s visit to Pont St. Esprit only a handful of scientists worldwide, estimated to be no more than eight-to-ten, knew of the existence of the man-made drug LSD. Of perhaps equal, if not greater, importance was that virtually nobody in France in 1951, apart from a select few officials at Sandoz Chemical, was aware that the company was secretly working closely with the CIA. Sandoz was both supplying the CIA with quantities the drug, and consulting with the agency on possible defensive and offensive uses for LSD, including secret experimentation in the United States and Europe."<ref name="Albarelli2010" /> |
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Kaplan has dismissed Albarelli's theories and assertions.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.europe1.fr/MediaCenter/Emissions/Cafe-crimes/Sons/L-affaire-de-Pont-Saint-Esprit-167199/| title=Café crimes: L'affaire de Pont-Saint-Esprit |date=2010-03-31|publisher=[[Europe 1]]|language=French|accessdate=1 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globaldashboard.org/2010/03/12/telegraph-france-acid-cia/|title=Did the CIA poison a French town with LSD? |last=Josset|first=Christophe|date=2010-03-12|publisher=[[France 24]]|accessdate=18 April 2010}}</ref> Both authors agree that ergot contamination is not the explanation for the incident and that more research surrounding the event should be conducted by the Government of France.<ref name="BBC2010" /> Secrecy agreements covering potentially embarrassing or illegal covert U.S. activities in France or in French controlled territory, such as described in National Security Memorandum 336 remain classified. |
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| ⚫ | Steven Kaplan's book entitled ''Le Pain Maudit'' argues that the poisoning might have been caused by [[nitrogen trichloride]] used to artificially (and illegally) bleach flour.<ref name=Kaplanbook/><ref>[http://www.laviedesidees.fr/Quand-le-pain-empoisonne.html Quand le pain empoisonne], ''La Vie des idées'', 2008-09-03 (in French)</ref> |
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| ⚫ | |||
In his 2009 book, ''A Terrible Mistake'', journalist Hank P. Albarelli Jr alleges that the CIA tested the use of LSD on the population of Pont-Saint-Esprit as part of its [[MKULTRA]] biological weapons program.<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-10996838 | work=BBC News | title=Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD? | date=2010-08-23}}</ref> Steven Kaplan has dismissed Albarelli's claims as [[conspiracy theory]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.europe1.fr/MediaCenter/Emissions/Cafe-crimes/Sons/L-affaire-de-Pont-Saint-Esprit-167199/|title=Café crimes: L'affaire de Pont-Saint-Esprit |date=2010-03-31|publisher=[[Europe 1]]|language=French|accessdate=1 April 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.globaldashboard.org/2010/03/12/telegraph-france-acid-cia/|title=Did the CIA poison a French town with LSD? |last=Josset|first=Christophe|date=2010-03-12|publisher=[[France 24]]|accessdate=18 April 2010}}</ref> |
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==References== |
==References== |
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Revision as of 13:04, 31 May 2015
The 1951 Pont-Saint-Esprit mass poisoning, also known as Le Pain Maudit was a mass poisoning on 15 August 1951, in the small town of Pont-Saint-Esprit in southern France. More than 250 people were involved, including 50 persons interned in asylums and 7 deaths. A foodborne illness, was suspected and among these, was originally believed to be a case of "cursed bread" (pain maudit). Academic sources include the incident among examples of ergot poisoning. Alternative theories suggest poisoning by mercury, mycotoxins, or nitrogen trichloride.[1][2][3][4][5] Citing declassified U.S. Government documents, a more recent theory has been put forth that the incident was a large scale field test for a deriliant incapacitating agent under the direction of the United States during the Cold War. This theory as well as the suspicion of a connection between the incident and contaminated bread has been disputed.
Ergot Poisoning
"Shortly after the incident, in September 1951, scientists writing in the highly respected British Medical Journal declared that “the outbreak of poisoning” was produced by ergot mold.[1] The explanation was based upon the findings of biochemists dispatched to the scene from the nearby Sandoz Chemical Company in Basle, Switzerland."[6]
The victims appeared to have one common connection. They had eaten bread from the bakery of Roch Briand who was subsequently blamed for using flour made from rye. According to reports at the time, the flour had been contaminated by a fungus similar to the hallucinogenic drug Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD). Following several inquiries and court actions, the exact cause of the incident has never been resolved. The baker Roch Briand was eventually cleared of any wrongdoing. Problems with ergot contamination explanation have been challenged and "ruled out" by predominate contemporary investigators.[7][8]
Mercury poisoning theory
Later investigations suggested mercury poisoning due to the use of Panogen or other fungicides used to treat grains and seeds.[9] Paranormal researcher John G. Fuller citing the opinion of toxicologists, asserts that the symptoms exhibited by victims in Pont-Saint-Esprit were not consistent with this hypothesis.[10] The mercury poisoning theory has also been "ruled out".[7]
Aspergillus fumigatus theory
In 1982, a French researcher suggested Aspergillus fumigatus, a toxic fungus produced in grain silos, as a potential culprit.[11]
Field test theory
Various theories behind the Pont-Saint-Esprit incident were described in John Grant Fuller Jr.'s 1968 book The Day of Saint Anthony's Fire. Ergot is a pre-cursor to LSD-25 which Fuller strongly suspected was the answer. He notes that a form of ergot was the likely culprit but that we may never know for certain because toxicologists and doctors could not reach an agreement. He concludes his book with a doctors opinion that "there is one and only one cause on the tragedy: some form of ergot and that form logically has to be akin to LSD."[10]
In 2008, historian Steven Kaplan published his book on the incident in the French Language entitled Le Pain Maudit.[12] Kaplan asserts that the incident was connected neither to LSD research nor to ergot poisoning and supports various other theories.[8]
In his 2009 book, A Terrible Mistake, journalist Hank P. Albarelli Jr alleges that the Special Operations Division of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) tested the use of LSD on the population of Pont-Saint-Esprit as part of its MKNAOMI chemical behavior program in a field test dubbed Project SPAN. Albarelli cites numerous declassified U.S. documents—some of which directly mention Pont St. Esprit, that tend to circumstantially support this theory.[7][8]
According to Albarelli, ergot poisoning was only a cover story. He notes that "Included in the contingent from Sandoz that suggested ergot contamination in 1951 was Dr. Albert Hofmann, the man who had first synthesized LSD in 1938. Also noted by Fuller,[10] at the time of the Sandoz group’s visit to Pont St. Esprit only a handful of scientists worldwide, estimated to be no more than eight-to-ten, knew of the existence of the man-made drug LSD. Of perhaps equal, if not greater, importance was that virtually nobody in France in 1951, apart from a select few officials at Sandoz Chemical, was aware that the company was secretly working closely with the CIA. Sandoz was both supplying the CIA with quantities the drug, and consulting with the agency on possible defensive and offensive uses for LSD, including secret experimentation in the United States and Europe."[6]
Kaplan has dismissed Albarelli's theories and assertions.[13][14] Both authors agree that ergot contamination is not the explanation for the incident and that more research surrounding the event should be conducted by the Government of France.[8] Secrecy agreements covering potentially embarrassing or illegal covert U.S. activities in France or in French controlled territory, such as described in National Security Memorandum 336 remain classified.
Nitrogen trichloride theory
Steven Kaplan's book entitled Le Pain Maudit argues that the poisoning might have been caused by nitrogen trichloride used to artificially (and illegally) bleach flour.[12][15]
References
- ^ a b Gabbai; Lisbonne; Pourquier (15 September 1951). "Ergot Poisoning at Pont St. Esprit". British Medical Journal. 2 (4732): 650–651. doi:10.1136/bmj.2.930.650-a. PMC 2069953. PMID 14869677.
- ^ Finger, Stanley (2001). Origins of Neuroscience: A History of Explorations Into Brain Function. Oxford University Press. p. 221. ISBN 978-0-19-514694-3. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Pommerville, Jeffrey C.; Alcamo, I. Edward (2013). Alcamo's Fundamentals of Microbiology: Body systems edition. Jones & Bartlett Publishers. p. 734. ISBN 978-1-4496-0594-0. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Cavaciocchi, Simonetta, ed. (2010). Economic and biological interactions in pre-industrial Europe, from the 13th to the 18th century. Istituto internazionale di storia economica F. Datini. Settimana di studio. Firenze University Press. p. 82. ISBN 978-88-8453-585-6. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ Frederick Burwick (1 November 2010). Poetic Madness and the Romantic Imagination. Penn State Press. pp. 180–. ISBN 978-0-271-04296-1. Retrieved 24 February 2013.
- ^ a b Albarelli, Hank P. Jr. (16 March 2010). "CIA: What Really Happened in the quiet French village of Pont-Saint-Esprit". voltairenet.org. Voltaire Network. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c SCHPOLIANSKY, CHRISTOPHE (23 March 2010). "Did CIA Experiment LSD on French Town?". ABCnews.com. ABC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ a b c d Thomson, Mike (23 August 2010). "Pont-Saint-Esprit poisoning: Did the CIA spread LSD?". BBC.com. BBC News. Retrieved 7 May 2015.
- ^ Jonathan Ott, Pharmacotheon: Entheogenic Drugs, their Plant Sources and History (Kennewick, W.A.: Natural Products Co., 1993), pg. 145. See also Dr. Albert Hofmann, LSD: My Problem Child (New York, N.Y.: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1980), Chapter 1: "How LSD Originated," pg. 6.
- ^ a b c Fuller, John (1969). The Day of St Anthony's Fire. London: Hutchinson. ISBN 0-09-095460-2.
- ^ Moreau, C. (1982). "Les mycotoxines neurotropes de l'Aspergillus fumigatus; une hypothèse sur le "pain maudit" de Pont-Saint-Esprit". Bulletin de la Société Mycologique de France (98): 261–273.
- ^ a b Kaplan, Steven (2008). Fayard (ed.). Le Pain Maudit. ISBN 978-2-213-63648-1.
- ^ "Café crimes: L'affaire de Pont-Saint-Esprit" (in French). Europe 1. 31 March 2010. Retrieved 1 April 2010.
- ^ Josset, Christophe (12 March 2010). "Did the CIA poison a French town with LSD?". France 24. Retrieved 18 April 2010.
- ^ Quand le pain empoisonne, La Vie des idées, 2008-09-03 (in French)