Possible Long-Term Health Effects of Short-Term Exposure to Chemical Agents. Volume 3. Current Health Status of Test Subjects
Abstract
This report is the third volume in a series prepared for a study that investigated possible delayed and long-term effects of experimental chemicals administered to soldiers at the U.S. Army Laboratories Edgewood, Maryland. The Edgewood tests, conducted over a 20-year period ending in 1975, were intended to investigate the immediate and short-term human-performance effects of short-term exposure to various chemicals with warfare potential and the subjects responses to therapy for such effects. Information in Volume 3 is based on the results of a questionnaire regarding current health status of test subjects. Edgewood test subjects who were alive and could be located received a mailed questionnaire; 82% of those who received the questionnaire responded to it. Subjects tested with anticholinesterase chemicals, anticholinergic chemicals, cholinesterase reactivators, or psychcochemicals did not differ significantly from control subjects or from those tested with other classes of drugs in their replies to questions about their current health status. Almost 90% of all these respondents reported no health problems related to the exposures under scrutiny, and 79% reported good to excellent health. Subjects tested with irritants and vesicants, including those who developed skin burns from mustard gas, reported no increased prevalence of significant skin cancer or other adverse health effects. The experimental methods and the available comparison groups were such that only large effects were likely to be uncovered.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Dec 31, 1985
- Accession Number
- ADA163614