This animation details 56 of 90 (and rising) biological warfare experiments that were conducted in public areas by the Microbiological Research Establishment, Porton Down from 1963-75. The MRE Porton Down was the UK biological warfare research centre.
The experimental procedure was for a ship, the Experimental Trials Vessel ICEWHALE, to sail in a straight line track spraying massive amounts of live bacteria. The resulting large bacterial aerosol cloud was carried onshore by the wind and sampled many tens of miles inland by mobile teams of MRE Porton Down scientists. A large proportion of the general public was exposed to these massive bacterial aerosols. The two live bacteria used in these trials were E.coli MRE162 (isolated from a toilet seat at Porton Down in 1949), and Bacillus subtilis, aka Bacillus globigii or BG (recognised as a cause of food poisoning by the UK Health Protection Agency). A UK Ministry of Defence commissioned Independent Review found that although it was likely that most people would not have suffered ill health from these trials, some people might have experienced pneumonia or blood poisoning.
The map section works well accompanied by Manic Street Preachers-If you Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next

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