Little is known about what exactly the bacteria consists of, and the DHS has not been very forthcoming with information, saying only that it is a “non-infectious” material that is safe enough to eat. State health officials will be working with the DHS and MBTA to monitor the
results of the tests. Given the federal government’s ominous record in releasing biological agents into subway systems and other transport hubs, it’s no surprise that this latest example is sure to cause consternation. The tests will begin Wednesday and will be held periodically over the next year. During a Senate hearing in 1977, it was revealed that the Pentagon had conducted numerous secret germ “attacks” on cities without public knowledge in an effort to test the threat posed by biological agents. These tests “may have caused outbreaks of disease which occurred in some of the test areas,” writes Leonard A. Cole, citing the Senate inquiry. These “attacks” included a 1964-65 program carried out by the U.S. Army which involved unsuspecting travelers being sprayed with bacteria-laden mist at Washington’s National Airport. Another example involved light bulbs containing Bacillus globigii that were dropped in the New York Subway by government scientists and allowed to contaminate the air. Similar tests were also conducted in the Chicago subway system, but when people started falling ill the connection with the tests was fudged because the government refused to keep track of the health effects of the released substance. The history of U.S. government and military germ warfare experimentation on American citizens and the innumerable deaths and illnesses that occurred as a result, underscore the fact that trusting the Department of Homeland Security, which has proven itself to be one of the most corrupt and secretive federal agencies in history, to carry out such tests in public, no matter how “safe” the DHS claims them to be, is the height of stupidity.READ ENTIRE ARTICLE BOSTON GLOBE ARTICLE
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