Project Bacchus was a covert investigation by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency US Defense Department to determine whether it is possible to construct a bioweapons production facility with off-the-shelf equipment.
History
The project
Project Bacchus operated from 1999-2000 to investigate whether would-be terrorists could build an anthrax production facility and remain undetected. [1] During the two-year simulation, the facility was constructed, and successfully produced an anthrax-like bacterium. [2] The participating scientists were able to make about 1 kilogram (2.2 lb) of highly refined bacterial particles. [2]
Reportage
The secret Project Bacchus was disclosed in a September 2001 article in The New York Times. [1] Reporters Judith Miller, Stephen Engelberg and William J. Broad collaborated on the article. [1] Shortly after it appeared, they published a book containing further details. [1] The book, Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, and the article are the only publicly available sources[ citation needed] concerning Project Bacchus and its sister projects, Clear Vision and Jefferson. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d e Enemark, Christian. Disease and Security: Natural Plagues and Biological Weapons in East Asia, ( Google Books), Routledge, 2007, pp. 173-75, ( ISBN 0415422345).
- ^ a b MacKenzie, Debora. Anthrax in Florida and New York "the same strain"", New Scientist, October 18, 2001. Retrieved January 6, 2009.
Further reading
- Tucker, Jonathan B. " Biological Threat Assessment: Is the Cure Worse Than the Disease?", Arms Control Today, October 2004, accessed January 6, 2009.
- Miller, Judith, Engelberg, Stephen and Broad, William J. Germs: Biological Weapons and America's Secret War, ( Google Books), Simon & Schuster, 2002, ( ISBN 0684871599).
- -- " U.S. Germ Warfare Research Pushes Treaty Limits", The New York Times, September 4, 2001, accessed January 6, 2009.