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Gene Watch Conference

Biological Weapons and the New Genetics - Avoiding the Threat

Section 4: Additional Measures for Security
a) Beyond the protocol: Jan van Aken (Sunshine project, Germany)
b) What can the Scientific and Medical Communities do? - Dr. Alistair Hay (University of Leeds)
c) Discussion chaired by Dr. Sue Mayer

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Section 4a: Beyond the protocol - Jan van Aken

There are agents that are not covered by the protocol. Some weapons are not directed at people but should also be covered.

Anti-material Agents

• Fungi which degrade Polyurethane
• Filter clogging bacteria
• Oil eating bacteria which produce a crystalline product that damages bearings etc.

These are, genetically engineered and  environmentally unsafe/untested. These too should be included in the protocol.

Anti-plant material & Drug Wars

Bio agents for use in the drugs war have already been produced. These are fungi against coca, poppy, and cannabis. Some of these are ready for use. They are a threat to the environment and to human health. They have not been tested on plants that are relatives of the target plants.

There is a danger from allowing this kind of operation.

• It undermines the global consensus against biological weapons.
• In a declared war use of these agents would be banned.
• It affects the livelihoods of farmers simply caught up in a state of civil unrest, and conflict of ideologies.
• It is not biological control, it is a biological weapon. (biological control uses a benign organism to attack for example an plant pest)

Environmental Modification Techniques (remember ENMOD ?)

In 1978 there was an international consensus called ENMOD restricting the use of chemicals that modified the environment. This followed the use of Agents Orange, and Operation Popeye. The effects of Agent Orange are still (20 years later) being suffered in Vietnam.

The agreement covered such things as setting fires; cloud seeding; spreading salt on fields; and the introduction of invasive species.

There may be things within ENMOD that would be useful.

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Section 4b: What can the Scientific and Medical Communities do? -   Dr. Alistair Hay

Certainly the protocol is essential. The place of the scientific and medical communities is to keep open lines of information. The provide open knowledge, and to use expertise to provide good clarification and research.

Clarification and knowledge examples

• In Vietnam there was more than agent orange. Also agent blue and others were used.
• in 1979, seventy people died from an anthrax outbreak because of release of between 1gm and 1Kg of infective agent.
• Accusations of biowarfare - white spots on dying plants turned out to be "bee shit"
• soil samples taken in Northern Iraq 4 years after the event showed residues of  Mustard gas and Sarin. Official samples were taken from fields, unofficial samples from the bomb craters where the explosions have rammed agents into hardened soil at crater base.
• Allegations of a deliberate "thrips" infection on crops in Cuba near a airport proved true.
• Scientists need to be involved in at risk programs for people on the ground. The coca plant to us is a nuisance, but to the Colombian farmer it is life.

Briefings

One way of handling information is to be regularly involved in giving non-political briefings on areas of interest. These should involve politicians, legislators, Civil Servants, the Clergy and the press. By creating an atmosphere of openness,

• we can encourage those going slowly to participate more fully.
• We can identify those who might be tempted to leave the circle of agreement and why.
• and keep a finger on the advances in science.

Advantage of Protocol

If there is a peace time moratorium on the development of biological weapons, then at least if war starts no preparation has been made in this field.

Dangers

• Genetic engineering could be used to design theatre weapons with highly defined impact of the neutron bomb.
• The threat from genetic engineering is not enhanced old weapons, but new weapons like the oil eating bug .
• Academics do not always have the full picture. One works on aerosols, and another on a patroller agent, together you have a problem.
• Inadequate risk assessment on research proposals on new organisms.
• Some countries have poor safety procedures. Western Universities have highly contained environments for working with organisms. Iraq worked on Anthrax with no containment.

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