NEW YORK CITY, June 05– In the early 1940s, medical scientists funded by the U.S. Chemical Warfare Service conducted painful mustard gas experiments on at least 60,000 American soldiers. The Allies, including the governments of Canada, Britain, Australia, and the United States, conducted these experiments on their own soldiers in order to identify the impact of chemical weapons on the health of soldiers. Susan L. Smith, PhD, a Professor of History and Classics at the University of Alberta, discussed these experiments at the Lilianna Sauter Lecture: Medicine in Wartime IV: Place, Health and War: World War II Mustard Gas Experiments in Transnational Perspective held on May 8 at The New York Academy of Medicine (NYAM) and hosted by NYAMs History of Medicine section.

According to Dr. Smith, one component of the research program involved examining how mustard gas affected men of various "races."

“The mustard gas experiments provided evidence of a climate of contempt beliefs of the existence and the meaning of race,” she said.

At least eight separate experimental programs in the United States focused specifically on Japanese American and African American soldiers and one focused on testing Puerto Ricans on an island off Panama. The researchers were searching for evidence of race-based differences in the responses of the human body to mustard gas exposure. No differences were found.

“Mustard gas experiments are a cautionary tale, about risking human health in the name of racialized science. It shows us that in the appeal and danger of race matters in medical research, especially in times of war and how the logic of racial thinking shaped scientific procedures in ways that were misguided and produced serious health consequences,” said Dr. Smith.

Susan L. Smith is a Professor of History and Classics at the University of Alberta specializing in the history of health and medicine. Her current research focuses on race, health, and war. She is the author of two books on race and health in the United States, Sick and Tired of Being Sick and Tired: Black Women's Health Activism in America, 1890-1950 and Japanese American Midwives: Culture, Community, and Health Politics, 1880-1950.

The New York Academy of Medicine is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit institution whose mission is to enhance the health of the public. Its research, education, community engagement, and evidence-based advocacy seek to improve the health of people living in cities, especially disadvantaged and vulnerable populations. The impact of these initiatives reaches into neighborhoods in New York City, across the country, and around the world. It works with community based organizations, academic institutions, corporations, the media, and government to catalyze and contribute to changes that promote health.

Posted on 06/05/2008

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