Van de Kamp Concerned Over Army Plan to Send Germ Warfare Toxins by Mail

State Atty. Gen. John Van de Kamp on Friday said he is concerned about the U.S. Army’s plan to ship dangerous germ warfare toxins through the mail, and he called for further environmental study before the plan is put into action.

The U.S. Army plans to establish a biological warfare testing center in Dugway, Utah, where dangerous toxins, such as anthrax and botulism, would be shipped via registered mail to 103 research stations nationwide, Van de Kamp said at a Los Angeles news conference.

Among the potential research stations are six in California: two in La Jolla and one each in Menlo Park, San Francisco, Livermore and at UCLA.

Van de Kamp said: “When I first heard of this plan, I thought it was an April Fool’s joke. Unfortunately it’s not.

Packaging Process

“The plan describes an earnest packaging process of cardboard boxes and plastic tubes. But think of what happens everyday to packages in the mail.

“The notion that mailed biological warfare toxins will be vulnerable to . . . accidents is chilling,” he added.

Van de Kamp said he was deeply troubled that more deadly packages would be misplaced if the Utah Army base goes ahead with its plans.

The general president of the postal union, Omar Gonzalez, called the U.S. Army’s plans “ridiculous.”