THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, October 2, 1996 TAG: 9610020597
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY SUSANNE M. SCHAFER, ASSOCIATED PRESS
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 88 lines
A CIA study looking into how many U.S. troops may have been exposed to a chemical weapons explosion could reveal ``a very large number'' were involved - even far greater than 15,000 troops, a Pentagon spokesman said Tuesday.
Pentagon officials are contacting about 5,000 troops who they believe may have been exposed during the first of two explosions at an Iraqi chemical weapons dump in southern Iraq in March 1991.
Pentagon spokesman Kenneth Bacon said a new study that looks at wind conditions, the potential number of chemical rockets destroyed and other matters involving a second explosion on March 10, 1991, might show far greater numbers of troops could have been exposed.
``My expectation is that, based on the amount of chemical weapons in the pit and what we've been told, there could be a very large number of troops included in a possible cloud area,'' Bacon said.
Pressed to define the number, he answered: ``I just don't think we know at this stage, but we have to think in terms of big numbers, bigger than 15,000 certainly.''
Veterans have long suspected that contact with Iraqi chemical or biological agents contributed to the chronic illnesses afflicting thousands of Persian Gulf War soldiers.
Until June 21, the Pentagon insisted there was no evidence the Iraqis used chemical or biological weapons during the war. Then, the officials acknowledged that U.S. troops may have exposed themselves by blowing up Iraqi chemical rockets at a site they believed contained only conventional weapons.
The CIA computer model is supposed to help ascertain how many troops may have been exposed to sarin nerve gas during the destruction in a bunker and an open pit at the weapons depot site called Khamiseyah.
At first, Pentagon officials said only 300 to 400 engineers were nearby. But later, they began warning about 5,000 veterans who may have been near the depot that they could have been exposed to nerve gas.
The computer model could help estimate the potential dispersion of chemical agents over a certain area, given the number of weapons that may have been destroyed, the prevailing winds and other conditions.
Bacon said the reason for an increase in potential exposures would be that wind patterns were very different during the March 10 explosion. Also, he said, the number of rockets destroyed apparently is much higher than originally estimated, but he could not immediately cite a number.
Bacon stressed that no matter what the CIA model shows, it will only be an estimate for what might have occurred, since it is impossible to exactly recreate the circumstances.
Also, he said, records showing where troops were apparently are very spotty.
``Nobody's trying to lowball the numbers. . . . I just can't give you a number,'' he said.
Asked if the number might go as high as 130,000 troops, he said, ``Nobody's told me that.''
Bacon said the Pentagon has asked the National Academy of Sciences and its Institute of Medicine to undertake a study of the military's approach to gulf war illnesses.
Veterans, and some lawmakers on Capitol Hill, have been sharply critical of how the Pentagon handled the complaints suffered by gulf war veterans. The new disclosure that soldiers might have been exposed to chemical weapons residue has only heightened that criticism.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., last week called on Defense Secretary William Perry to fire Dr. Stephen Joseph, the Pentagon's top health official, but that move was rejected.
``We have to pay more attention to the possibility of exposure,'' Bacon said at the briefing. What occurred at Khamiseyah ``does raise the possibility of low-level exposure'' to chemical weaponry.
About 22,000 people have registered with the Pentagon and have asked to be evaluated for health concerns they believe may be related to their service in the gulf. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
THE RISING TOLL
0 Until June 21, the Pentagon insisted there was no evidence the
Iraqis used chemical or biological weapons in the Gulf War.
400 Then, officials said that 300 to 400 engineers were nearby in
March 1991 when Iraqi chemical rockets were blown up at a site in
southern Iraq believed to contain only conventional weapons.
5,000 Later, officials began warning about 5,000 veterans who may
have been near the depot that they could have been exposed to nerve
gas.
15,000 Now, a Pentagon spokesman said a new study that looks at
wind conditions, the potential number of chemical rockets destroyed
and other matters involving a second explosion may show far greater
than 15,000 troops could have been exposed.
KEYWORDS: CHEMICAL WEAPONS PERSIAN GULF
CASUALTIES OPERATION DESERT STORM IRAQ by CNB