Tag: Treasure Island

Treasure Island California Site

I am posting more Treasure Island sources on this site as the amount of content would fill up my Disaster Area site. So for the time being, search this site and the Treasure Island California Site for content on Treasure Island. It is quite extensive.

https://treasureislandcalifornia.wordpress.com/

Treasure Island – Naval Training Bulletin. 1956-57 June p 12 Damage Controlman, Class A Courses

Schools Command, US Naval Station, Treasure Island Calif., Naval Training Bulletin. 1956-57 June p 12 HathiTrust page

1. Fire Fighting (3 weeks fire-fighting; 1 week portable pumps) 4 weeks
2. Atomic and Chemical Defense Monitoring – 3 weeks
3. Basic Woodworking Tools and General Carpentry 4 weeks
4. Welding, Mathematics, and Blueprints 4 weeks
5. Practical Damage Control 4 weeks
6. Painting and Plastic Pipe Repair 2 weeks, 2 days

Treasure Island – Biological and Chemical Training on USS Pandemonium Dec 1956 Naval Training Bulletin

USS Pandemonium being built for Biological, Chemical training. Naval Training Bulletin December 1956 pp 9-11. HathiTrust Link
Note the students training:
Page 10: July 1955 – – Students practice Biological and chemical warfare countermeasures on deckhouse.
PAGE 10: Lower right Construction work is suspended temporarily for class drills.
pAGE 11: September 1956 – – A class hoses down the main deck aft. The 40 mm and K guns have just been acquired.

Naval Training Bulletin December 1956, pg. 9

1953-Biological Warfare Training Manual at Treasure Island, San Francisco CA

Film of the Navy purposely contaminating San Francisco with Serratia marcescens in 1951 and in color, “Naval Concepts of Chemical and Biological Warfare” Naval Concepts of Chemical and Biological Warfare (1952), Department of Defense Film Production, National Archives and Records Administration Catalogue # 428.MN.9170A, Declassified NND Authority # 64044

Navy Reports that indicate the Biological Warfare training was concurrent with the Radiological Warfare Decontamination Training at Treasure Island. This constant testing caused an incident in 1950 whereby 11 people were infected by a bacterium that produced a pneumonia that cost a man his life. Senator Edward Kennedy was very upset about this in a 1977 hearing and chewed out the Army official who told the committee about the problem.

NIH report on Serratia infections

United States. Congress. Senate. Committee on Human Resources. Subcommittee on Health and Scientific Research. Biological Testing Involving Human Subjects by the Department of Defense, 1977: Hearings Before the Subcommittee On Health And Scientific Research of the Committee On Human Resources, United States Senate, Ninety-fifth Congress, First Session … March 8 And May 23, 1977. Washington: U.S. Govt. Print. Off., 1977.

United States Navy Biological Warfare Defense, Civil Engineer Corps, United States Navy, TECHNICAL PUBLICATION NAVDOCKS TP-PL-4; REV. 15 April 1953 (REPRINTED 1 SEPT 1953 INCORPORATING PRIOR CHANGES)
Department of the Navy, Bureau of Yards and Docks, Washington 25, DC:

A1.05 Simulant Agents
Simulant BW agents are microorganisms or compounds having little or no pathogenicity or toxicity, but otherwise resembling true BW agents in certain characteristics or properties, such as viability, size, food or cultural requirements, growth characteristics, persistency, and routes of invasion. They are particularly useful in field testing the behavior of munitions, determination of effect of particle size on penetration of the air passages of animals, survival of vegetable and spore-bearing organisms under experimental and environmental conditions, testing of protective devices and procedures, and for training. purposes. Examples of microbial simulants are serratia marcescens or Bacillus prodigiosus, a vegetable nonsporulating organism, and Bacillus globigii, a spore-forming rod-shaped bacterium. Continue reading “1953-Biological Warfare Training Manual at Treasure Island, San Francisco CA” →

Atomic, Biological and Chemical Training at Treasure Island California 1957

Medical News Letter, Vol. 26, No. 5 p. 24
Friday, September 20, 1957

Information for Medical Officers Medical officers are encouraged to attend one of the following courses of instruction in the indoctrination of the defensive aspects of atomic, biological, and chemical warfare. Each course is five weeks in duration.

Two weeks are devoted to atomic warfare defense; two weeks to biological chemical warfare defense; and the fifth week to the planning and damage control aspects of special weapons handling. Secret clearance is required for all or any phase of the courses, and prospective students should familiarize themselves with the contents of OpNav Instruction 5510. 1A. Additional information on the courses may be found in BuPers Instruction 1500. 25 and BuPers Notice 1500 of 10 May 1955. Requests for attendance should be processed m accordance with local instructions. Convening dates for the remainder of Fiscal Year 1956 are contained in the directives above. Continue reading “Atomic, Biological and Chemical Training at Treasure Island California 1957” →

Treasure Island Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare for Medical Officers

Medical News Letter, Vol. 33, No. 12 op. 20
Training in ABC Warfare for Medical Officers -A Four Weeks’ Course

Course #5 convening 4 January 1960
Location: U.S. Naval Schools Command, Naval Station, Treasure Island, San Francisco, Calif.
Student Clearance Required: SECRET
Reporting Time and Place: Prior to 2200, 3 January 1960, Personnel Office, U.S. Naval Schools Command, Bldg. 28

Course Objectives

The course is designed for experienced active duty Naval Medical officers possessing SECRET security clearance. It will stress the medical aspects of modern warfare and of military peace time operations, including problems incident to atomic, biological, and chemical weapons systems, nuclear propulsion, mass casualties, and isotope programs. Military aspects of the weapons systems and military countermeasures will also be considered so that Medical officers may function effectively on a staff and can reasonably assess the medical compromises imposed by the military situation. Outstanding speakers, both military and civilian, will be on the program. The course will include visits to the Naval Radiological Defense Laboratory and the Naval Biological Laboratory; it will also include several practical exercises and drills. Texts will be provided for permanent retention Continue reading “Treasure Island Atomic, Biological, and Chemical Warfare for Medical Officers” →

Treasure Island CA – Biological and Chemical Training Center US Navy Medical News Letter, Vol. 29, No. 5 Friday, l March 1957 page 14

Description of the Atomic, Biological and Chemical training center at Treasure Island Navy Base including the showers necessary to decontaminate the students from the Biological and Chemical Training Center at Treasure Island.

The Evolution of the USS Pandemonium US Navy Medical News Letter, Vol. 29, No. 5 Friday, l March 1957 page 14

The old adage, “Big oaks from little acorns grow, ” was recently demonstrated at the Biological and Chemical Warfare Defense School at Treasure Island, Calif. In July 1955, an old deckhouse served as a mockup for shipboard training in biological and chemical warfare counter-measures. Today, the deckhouse has grown into the USS Pandemonium, a full-scale mockup of a 173 PC.
The Pandemonium has been designed throughout for the teaching of all phases of ABC shipboard defense and recovery techniques. It was constructed from a set of general plans of the PC-1170 and !rom photos of the PC-116. Continue reading “Treasure Island CA – Biological and Chemical Training Center US Navy Medical News Letter, Vol. 29, No. 5 Friday, l March 1957 page 14” →

Dumping Nuclear Waste Directly into San Francisco Bay, the Cover UP, NAVY REPORT 10 December 1946

DTIC AD0473908: OPERATION CROSSROADS. RADIOLOGICAL DECONTAMINATION OF TARGET AND NON- TARGET VESSELS. VOLUME 3 pp.102-115
Note: “The Cover Up” is on page 109
[Note all page numbers and notes will be enclosed in these brackets]

Code 180 A
All/Crossroads/S99
S-E-C-R-E-T

NAVY DEPARTMENT
Bureau of Ships
Washington 25, D.C.

10 December 1946

MEMORANDUM

Subject: Conference on Radiological Safety; Report of.
Time: 0910, 27 November 1946.
Place: Navy Department, Bureau of Ships Room T3-2703.

Present: R.Adm.SOLBERG (BuShips) Col. NICHOLS (ManhatDist)
Capt. MAXWELL (BuShips) Col. ROPER (ManhatDist)
Cdr. REE (BuShips) Col. FIELDS (ManhatDist)
Cdr. HOFFMAN (BuShips ) Col. COONEY (RadSafe)
WesCoRep.) Capt.LYON (BuMed)
Cdr. LANGER (BuShips) Dr. HAMILTON (Univ.Calif)
Cdr. HAWES (BuShips) Continue reading “Dumping Nuclear Waste Directly into San Francisco Bay, the Cover UP, NAVY REPORT 10 December 1946” →

1946-09-24 RADIOLOGICAL CLEARANCE OF NON TARGET VESSELS AND PROCEDURES FOR DECONTAMINATION; Ships bound for Pacific bases after Atomic Bomb tests

Navy Reports that document the dumping of nuclear waste directly into San Francisco Bay as well as other Navy Bases, the orders, correspondence, etc.

Citation: DTIC AD0473908: OPERATION CROSSROADS. RADIOLOGICAL DECONTAMINATION OF TARGET AND NON-TARGET VESSELS. VOLUME 3 pp. 16-19

NOTE: THIS DIRECTIVE PARTIALLY SUPERSEDED CJTF1 SERIAL
079 OF 9 SEPTEMBER 1946. (SEE APPENDIX II)

BUSHIPS Code 180 NAVY DEPARTMENT
All/Crossroads/FS/L9 BUREAU OF SHIPS BUMED
All/Crossroads (P2) and A4-1/FS and
Serial 1381 BUREAU OF MEDICINE AND SURGERY
WASHINGTON 25, D. C.

CONFIDENTIAL
AIRMAIL SPEEDLETTER
24 SEPTEMBER 1946

TO: CINCPAC
COMWESSEAFRON
COMSERVPAC
COMTWELVE
COM19THFLT

SUBJECT IS RADIOLOGICAL CLEARANCE OF NON TARGET VESSELS AND PROCEDURES FOR DECONTAMINATION X BUSHIPS HAS BEEN ASSIGNED COGNIZANCE OF DECONTAMINATION PROCEDURES PLUS SAFE OPERATING AND MAINTENANCE METHODS IN CASES OF ALL VESSELS EXPOSED TO RADIOACTIVITY X BUMED ASSIGNED RESPONSIBIUTY FOR DETERMINING SAFE RADIOLOGICAL LIMITS X THESE BUREAUS WILL ACT JOINTLY IN GIVING FINAL RADIOLOGICAL CLEARANCE TO VESSELS AFTER REVIEWING REMAINING IN ACTIVE SERVICE X REFERENCE COMJOINT TASK FORCE ONE SERIAL ZERO SEVEN NINE OF NINE SEPTEMBER X WHERE INFORMATION AND INSTRUCTIONS THIS SPEEDLETTER CONFLICT WITH REFERENCE THIS SPEEDLETTER WILL APPLY X Continue reading “1946-09-24 RADIOLOGICAL CLEARANCE OF NON TARGET VESSELS AND PROCEDURES FOR DECONTAMINATION; Ships bound for Pacific bases after Atomic Bomb tests” →

LEGACY OF CONTAMINATION. A California Naval base shutters, and contamination lingers decades later/ Reuters

Article Link
Reuters looks into the nuclear contamination of the EPA Superfund site, Treasure Island which is in San Francisco Bay and it is being developed by contractors with close ties to Bay Area politicians. The City put low income housing on the former barracks and houses on the site. People are getting sick. The Navy and the city are trying to cover this up but kids are finding radioactive materials all over the island.

One girl who became ill had a jewelry box her “Treasure Box” with radium painted dials and radioactive beads. [Editors note: Fallout beads]

Disaster Area Editor:
Why would these be on Treasure Island? Treasure Island was the Navy’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical training school. They are exactly the thing you need to train sailors on how to detect radiation and so they buried these things in the ground for the sailors to find. And that is the only way they could have been dug up by this little girl in her yard or on the playground at her school on Treasure Island.

Most military bases who operated ships and airplanes had radium painted dials and markers used to operate machines, engines etc in no-light situations. When they realized that these markers were radioactive and that they were dangerous, these bases removed them and buried them in the ground, with no care that it might spread the contamination into the water table.

Most EPA superfund sites for military bases have the radium dial markers as one of the things that make it a federal cleanup site. Usually there are others like PCBs (dioxin) and Trichloroethylene (TCE), unexploded ordinance (which is quite common in the Bay Area). You can search for these specific chemicals on the Envirostor website which is the State of California’s Toxic Waste site or on the GeoTracker site which covers California and federal cleanup sites. The Geotracker map shows little squares that indicate a toxic waste location and if you click on them it will show the name of the site.