In a message dated 4/25/2002 11:00:34 AM Pacific Daylight Time, dlnews_sender@dtic.mil writes: > IMMEDIATE RELEASE > April 25, 2002 > (703)697-5737(public/industry) > > DOD RELEASES TWO REPORTS ON KHAMISIYAH DEMOLITION OPERATIONS > > The Department of Defense released today two reports > relating to the events at Khamisiyah during the Gulf War. The > first report is a final version of its case narrative "U.S. > Demolition Operations at Khamisiyah." The second, "Modeling and > Risk Characterization of U.S. Demolition Operations at the > Khamisiyah Pit," is a technical report detailing the modeling > and risk characterization of possible chemical warfare agent > exposure in the Gulf War. > > After publishing the first interim report in 1997, > investigators working for DoD's special assistant for Gulf War > Illnesses, Medical Readiness And Military Deployments > intensified their efforts to address unanswered questions and to > fully understand the effect of demolition operations on U.S. > servicemembers. In addition, investigators began detailed > computer modeling of events in the spring and summer of 1997 to > determine the size and path of the potential hazard area created > by demolition activities. The modeling resulted in the Defense > Department sending notification letters to approximately 99,000 > veterans in 1997. > > Further refinement of computer modeling of the > Khamisiyah Pit demolition was completed in January 2000. This > information combined with an updated CIA estimate of how much > chemical warfare agent was released, addition of deposition and > decay to the models and consideration of toxicity of both sarin > and cyclosarin in the models resulted in a second interim report > published in December 2000. The improved modeling allowed > investigators to redefine the potential hazard area, resulting > in slight changes to the estimated numbers - 101,000 vs. 99,000 > - of U.S. servicemembers possibly exposed to low-levels of nerve > agent by the Khamisiyah demolitions. More than 66,000 soldiers > were shown to be in the potential hazard area by both the 1997 > and 2000 modeling. In December 2000, the Defense Department > notified more than 140,000 servicemembers of their status based > on their unit location inside or outside of the 2000 potential > hazard area. Now what was that aboput "Gulf War Syndrome?" Jeffery G. Scism, IBSSG, (http://blacksheep.rootsweb.com) ~~ Coordinator, C h u r c h i l l Nevada U S G e n W e b Site Co-Coordinator, Inmontgo-L, Montgomery County, Indiana, U S G e n W e b Site manager of the following Rootsweb Lists: B l a c k s h e e p, L a n d e s, L a n d i s, P e f f l e y, S c i s m, E n d i c o t t, S h i p w r e c k, Inmontgo (Mont. Co. Indiana), NVChurch (Churchill Co. Nv.)