Rescued from the Memory Hole: Chemical Warfare Toxicity Report

For some reason they were nicknamed memory holes. When one knew that any document was due for destruction, or even when one saw a scrap of waste paper lying about, it was an automatic action to lift the flap of the nearest memory hole and drop it in, whereupon it would be whirled away on a current of warm air to the enormous furnaces which were hidden somewhere in the recesses of the building.

- From 1984, by George Orwell

Those of you who have spent any amount of time on this blog or my main site, EverVigilant.net, have no doubt seen mention of TheMemoryHole.org. Editor and author Russ Kick started the site "to preserve and spread material that is in danger of being lost, is hard to find, or is not widely known."

It's a good thing, too. Thanks to the Memory Hole, we learned some of the titles in the CIA's film library. We caught a glimpse of the kind of democratic utopia our government has in store for the people of Iraq. We even saw pictures from Abu Ghraib that our government didn't want you to see.

The latest government document made available to us is a report entitled "Chemical Warfare Agent Toxicity for Both Genders from Different Age and Ethnic Groups." The abstract of the document reads as follows:

An assessment was performed to identify factors that have potential effects on the toxicity estimates of chemical warfare (CW) agents for humans. Facotrs such as weight, height, age, body composition, body fat, fat-free mass (FFM), body surface area (BSA), minute volume (MV), and ethnic origin were evaluated. Results indicate that FFM, BSA, and MV are important in estimating agent toxicity. Weight and height measurements of males and females from various countries indicate that people can be separated into four general ethnic groups such as: 1) Caucasian, 2) South American, 3) Oriental, and 4) other Asian. These four groups have distinct differences in their relationship among FFM, BSA, and MV. However, the ratios of FFM, BSA, and MV between male and female of all age groups from various ethnic groups are constant. Based on the recommended toxicity values for a 70-kg male soldier and the relationships of FFM, BSA, and MV, the toxicity values for female soldiers and male and female civilians of different age groups from different ethnic origins were calculated and are presented in this report.

While the document does refer to tests being conducted on mice, hamsters and rats, it also includes some interesting statements that seem to imply human experimentation. For example: "An average U.S. male soldier can withstand about 10 percent more agent via inhalation, percutaneous vapor, or percutaneous liquid challenge than an average U.S. male civilian from the same age group" (Executive Summary, a, 6). Considering how much of the document is blocked-out, we may never know for sure.

If you haven't yet, please bookmark TheMemoryHole.org. No matter what your political affiliation, you will find that it is an extremely valuable source of information.