Operation Sea-Spray facts for kids

Operation Sea-Spray was a secret experiment by the U.S. Navy in 1950. They sprayed tiny, invisible bacteria over the San Francisco Bay Area in California. The goal was to see how easily a city like San Francisco could be affected by a bioweapon. The bacteria used were called Serratia marcescens and Bacillus globigii.

The Secret Test

What Happened?

From September 20 to September 27, 1950, the U.S. Navy carried out this experiment. They released two types of bacteria from a ship near San Francisco. At the time, they believed these bacteria were safe for people.

Scientists used special equipment at 43 spots around the city. They found that almost all of San Francisco's 800,000 residents likely breathed in many of these tiny particles.

Health Concerns

Unusual Illnesses

On October 11, 1950, a few weeks after the test, eleven people went to Stanford Hospital in San Francisco. They had very rare and serious infections. Most of them got better. However, one person, Edward J. Nevin, sadly died later from a heart infection. He had recently had a medical procedure.

Doctors at Stanford Hospital found these infections very unusual. They wrote about it in a medical journal. Other hospitals in the city did not report similar outbreaks. All eleven people had infections after medical procedures. This suggested the source of their infections might have been inside the hospital.

Some cases of pneumonia in San Francisco also increased after the Serratia marcescens was released. However, it was not proven for sure that the experiment caused these cases.

Later Questions

There was no proof that the military told health officials about the experiment beforehand. Years later, doctors wondered if the experiment might have caused other serious infections seen in the 1960s and 1970s.

Senate Hearings

The Truth Comes Out

In 1977, a special group in the U.S. Senate held meetings. During these meetings, the U.S. Army finally shared details about these secret tests. Army officials mentioned the pneumonia cases. But they said any link to their experiments was just a coincidence. They also pointed out that other hospitals did not report similar outbreaks.

The Lawsuit

Family Seeks Justice

In 1981, Edward J. Nevin's family sued the government. They claimed the government was careless and responsible for his death. They also sought money for medical costs and emotional harm.

The court decided against the family. This was mainly because it was not proven that the bacteria from the test caused Mr. Nevin's death. The Nevin family took their case all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. However, the Supreme Court chose not to change the lower court's decision.

Other Similar Tests

During the Senate hearings in 1977, the Army also revealed more about other tests:

• Between 1949 and 1969, the military did 239 open-air tests with biological agents. In 80 of these tests, they used live bacteria. Researchers at the time thought these bacteria were harmless. In other tests, they used chemicals that acted like bacteria.
• In the 1950s, Army researchers spread Serratia over Panama City and Key West, Florida. No illnesses were reported from these tests.
• Also in the 1950s, researchers spread zinc cadmium sulfide over Minnesota and other Midwestern states. They wanted to see how far these particles would travel in the air. These particles were found over 1,000 miles away in New York state. Zinc cadmium sulfide is now known to cause cancer.
• Bacillus globigii, which was never shown to harm people, was released in San Francisco, New York, Washington, D.C., and along the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
• In New York in 1966, military researchers spread Bacillus subtilis in the subway system. They dropped lightbulbs filled with bacteria onto tracks in stations in midtown Manhattan. The bacteria traveled for miles throughout the subway. An Army report in 1968 said that similar secret attacks with disease-causing agents during busy times could expose many people to infection, illness, or even death.
• In May 1965, Bacillus globigii was secretly released at Washington's National Airport and a bus terminal. More than 130 passengers were exposed. They then traveled to 39 cities in seven states in the two weeks after this mock attack.