By CHRISTINA STUEVE
News Tribune
Friday, October 27, 2000
VERSAILLES -- About 250 people attended a town hall meeting Thursday evening that Joyce
Riley vonKleist, Versailles, called an "emergency" meeting to address issues
surrounding bacillus subtilis, a simulate used in training exercises at Ft. Leonard Wood.
vonKleist says the simulate is known to cause spontaneous abortions in sheep and cattle,
upper respiratory infections, eye infections, and can affect people with compromised
immune systems, including the elderly, chronically ill, and the very young.
Major Derik Crotts, director of public affairs at Ft. Leonard Wood, said bacillus subtilis
is an ingredient commonly found in the environment that dies quickly when exposed to the
sun.
Ft. Leonard Wood conducts five-week biological defense training courses four times a year
for soldiers operating biological detection systems. He said the course is designed to
provide early detection of biological hazards on the battlefield. Ft. Leonard Wood is
limited in its release of the simulate. No more than 49.5 pounds a year or four pounds in
24 hours can be used.
"We're using the substance within the guidelines of these agencies," Crotts
said, referring to regulations set by the federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
and state Department of Natural Resources (DNR). "Our goal is to conduct safe,
realistic and challenging training to ensure forces are ready when needed."
During the meeting in Versailles, vonKleist showed photographs of soldiers she said were
severely injured from biological chemicals used during the Gulf War and she circulated a
petition among the people in attendance.
vonKleist served as a flight nurse during the Persian Gulf War. She is a captain in the
Air Force Reserves, but has been inactive since 1993, according to records from the Air
Reserve Personnel Center in Denver, Colo.
According to a statement from the Missouri Department of Health, the agency has done
independent research, including discussions with the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and the National Institutes of Health on bacillus subtilis. Their research
shows the organism is safe for research purposes.
The Environmental Protection Agency says bacillus subtilis has no risks to human health,
because no adverse effects have been reported. It is commonly used by farmers for beans,
corn, peas, soybeans, barley, wheat, and peanuts.