CIA MAY HAVE TESTED BIOLOGICAL WARFARE IN NEW YORK IN '50S, CHURCH SAYS

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400410005-1
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 1
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 1, 2004
• Sequence Number: 5
• Publication Date: December 4, 1979
• Content Type: NSPR

ARTICLE AP EAi proved For Releay~jo5. /A~,~CI~-,~RDN88- 00040 QU5 1 13; la j C1V SAGE ~''1'O POST
-- 4 December 1979
C' L/ of
Yh. (c v L. X2J
. Bioloiiicai War1ar -
The Central.",..', Intelligence Agency
may have been Involved in "open air"
biological warfare ? tests, in streets and
tunnels in the New. York City area 'in
1955 and. 1956,.~,according to an analy:
sis of CIA. records released yesterday
by . the. Church -of Scientology
The - four-month analysis 1 suggests
that the CIA purchased, supplies for
experiments . .that...included the dis?
semination of 'unknown, substances
from aerosol devices mounted in suit-
cases and in the exhaust of a specially:
modified 1953 Mercury,.: according. to
The-church's analysts' said they:-ex-
amined. about 600 pages of CIA finan-
cial records that-. were part,. of. the
agency's M B TJ'J,TRA mind control ex
periments.. The-..documents; have been
made public. by the CIA during th
last 2% Years. x .?'
The Scientologists' report Is to -be
made> public '-today. Copies- `of. the-re-
port were sent to congressional Intel-
Iigence z and, Armed Services- commit-
tees as- well, as to .the CIA, and the
Army, a church spokesman said. .
The Scientologists said analysts' had
pieced together scattered bits of` in-
formation they found in the heavily
censored CIA .documents.. They,,, said
experiment was code-named.. "Opera-
tion Big City," and that details of the
,by the: ;CIA or, are still, shielded by
The CIA:-: has;. never acknowledge
any involvement with open- air.tests of
-biological 'agents Much-of :the intelli
Previously `'r'eleasedYdocuments wind
congressional hearings showed the
Army's "Special Operations Division"
-series of tests between 1949 and 196&
"apparently - designed to 'gauge : the
tan areas to-`possible Soviet chemical
Early this .year,: a Sam. Francisco
Jilt.
lawyer= released Army documents. ob
tamed under the Freedom of Informa-
tion Act 'describing.- a 1950 test in
which a-bacteria cloud sprayed fro
'a ship off the Golden Gate wafted in-
land to cover the entire bay area.
"We feel, that the public has a right
to know of' every Incident where U.S.
citizens may have been the target of
chemical "and-or biological"warfare)
testing," saiA_Church of-Scientology
spokesmanBr,an Anderson.
scFrom the 7pages of receipts,
church investk;ators: concluded:
:''"Equipped *Ith test animals, the
CIA-Armyteaitn. experimented with a
variety of-devices capable of dissemi-
nating a po',vdt~r or gas. intoi the air
under,:. covert , conditions. Battery
driven. 'dusters' 6vere installed in suit-
eases that had been- soundproofed. to
muffle the noise.. Similar devices were
also:Construeted to sample:the air to
'determine the, effectiveness ?of the
test: 'Personnel were protected with,
at least, nasal filter- pads::
...The primary test .occurred Feb.. _11-
15,41956, ??in' the New York- City- area
when, a-. 1953' Mercury. with, tail'. pipes
extending -an. extra 18; inches traveled
:only 80 miles but covered four turn.
pikes and-tunnels: When.thee-tes- car
'returned itwas, washed to. handle.;'c pn-
'tamination' .and washed again !)w
days lat r" A
"A 'church spokesman""said "Ve
would lik'e' to`-know; and ai'e 'sttra*.the
`people;a3:New York'-would: like to
:know,, what., the Army-CIA? uaar 1; to
'operation l3ig'(rityy'y'. r Y a1 a` ?.:a ;
Approved For Release 2005/01/13 : CIA-RDP88-01315R000400410005-1