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Revision as of 07:37, 31 December 2006
Operation Red Hat was a U.S. military action to move chemical warfare munitions from Okinawa, Japan to Johnston Atoll in the North Pacific Ocean.
In 1969, 23 U.S. servicemen and one U.S. civilian stationed in Okinawa, Japan, were exposed to low levels of the nerve agent sarin while repainting the military depot buildings. The weapons had been kept secret from Japan, sparking a furor in that country, an international incident and the creation of Operation Red Hat.
Once Operation Red Hat commenced in 1971, the Army leased 41 acres on Johnston. Phase I of the operation took place in January and moved 150 tons of mustard agent munitions. Phase II moved the remainder of the chemical munitions, about 12,500 tons, in September. Originally it was planned that the munitions be moved to Umatilla Chemical Depot but this never happened due to public opposition and political pressure. In addition Congress even passed legislation (PL 91-672) that prohibited the transfer of nerve agent, mustard agent, agent orange and other chemical munitions to all 50 U.S. states.
References
- GlobalSecurity.org: Operation Red Hat
- Suzanne Marshall PhD: "Chemical Weapons Disposal and Environmental Justice", Kentucky Environmental Foundation, November, 1996 (funded by Educational Foundation of America)