PANAMA – “Test Tube Republic: Chemical Weapons Tests in Panama and US Responsibility,” a report from the Fellowship of Reconciliation, reveals that the US Army has conducted chemical weapons tests on an island off Panama since 1944. Tests on San José island exposed human subjects to mustard gas and tear gas. The Army’s “San José Project” tested range of deadly chemicals including VX, Sarin, Lewisite, cyanogen chloride and phosgene gas were delivered in grenades, mortars, air-dropped bombs and 105mm Howitzer shells. In 1945, San Jose Project scientists tried to devise ways to use captured Nazi nerve agents in a US invasion of Japan. The US government still refuses to release information on chemical weapons buried in Panama and dumped its surrounding seas.

[For the complete report, send $5 to FOR, 995 Market St., No.801, San Francisco, CA 94103, (415) 495- 6334.]

• I. Introduction
  
• II. Brief History of Chemical Weapons Programs in Panama
  
• III. Storage of Chemical Agents and Munitions
  
• IV. Chemical Weapons Tests
  
• V. Disposal of Chemical Agents and Munitions
  
• VI. Potential Long-Term Dangers Posed by Abandoned Chemical Weapons
  
• VII. Information and Documents on Chemical Weapons: The U.S. Record
  
• VIII. Legal Obligations
  
• IX. Alleged development of biological agents in Panama
  
• X. Conclusions and Recommendations
  
• Annex