MRE FIELD TRIAL RS 13 [Main Title]

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  • Title: MRE FIELD TRIAL RS 13 [Main Title]
  • Film Number: DED 253
  • Other titles: MICROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT FIELD TRIAL RS 13 [Alternative Title] PORTON DOWN TRIALS NON-NITRATE COLLECTION [Allocated Series Title]
  • Summary: Record of the trial carried out at sea in Lyme Bay off the Dorset coast to test the viability of E. Coli in airborne particles shows British scientists setting up sampling equipment inland to measure particles sprayed from a boat, thus successfully demonstrating the feasibility of small scale biological warfare.
  • Description: VISUAL SUMMARY Air view of South Coast trials area: table of particles concentration: bacteria survival chart: effect of size-decay rate. Map of Lyme Bay: diagram of agent dispensing ship and positions of mobile sampling stations: mobile labs en route to trials site: arrival at site: vehicles connected to power supply; meteorological equipment; setting up Radar: guard dogs on site: Moon Fleet Hotel: preparation of mobile sampling stations, slit samplers and other details: RT communication network HQ - mobile stations: Met. information: Met balloons: preparation of slurry at Pilot Plant MRE. Arrival of slurry material for loading on Icewhale: ships trials party: mounting spray heads on Icewhale: control panel: Icewhale putting to sea: short range sampling from ship: background sampling; stirring slurry in barrels: Radar balloons tracking: plotting prospective course of ship and siting sampling stations: sampling stations being set up in position: Icewhale spraying short range sampling: Decca Navigator: Plating out from collected samples: spray completed: float recovery: E Coli Count; graph of airborne travel: Histogram of sampling results: laboratory assessment of samples at MRE: Cascade impactor slides: diagram of concentration achieved at various mobile sampling stations. COMMENTARY (NB - not verbatim) In 1966, Biological trials were carried out on the South coast of England, designed to measure the properties of bacterial particles in an aerosol. The basic aims of the experiment were to assess the risk to this country of Biological warfare, through a method of detecting biological particles in the atmosphere and to answer the following questions: 1) Concentration of particles 2) Dose of bacteria 3) Survival 4) Effect of size 5) Detection Lyme Bay and the surrounding countryside were chosen for the trial because of its proximity to Portland Naval base and because winds can range from 100º , through South to 300º . A suitable control site was found near Fleet, and 60 miles from Porton. A ship was to spray the source of bacteria into an offshore wind and as the cloud drifted over the countryside it was to be detected by a mobile sampling station. At the end of the trials the samples were brought back to the mobile test centre for assessment. The trial period was usually seven days. The two mobile labs. left Porton for Weymouth. Instruments and aerials were installed. An aerial was erected for the VHF radio telephone, and a wind meter was also set up. A means of communicating with meteorological aircraft was also set up, as well as for communicating with Porton and gathering meteorological data. An optical range finder for tracking zero lift balloons was also erected. Land Rovers were modified to become sampling stations. An engine driven pump was connected to a vacuum manifold at the rear of the vehicle. The sampling devices were put on a vertical axis so they could be made to face into the wind. The detecting devices were: The cascade Impactor, which counts the number of biological particles in the air. the Three-stage sampler which measures the viability and dose of the test organism in the cloud, the Slit sampler was used to detect the time of arrival and duration of each cloud at the station and the Cyclone sampler was used to collect concentrated samples. In the slit sampler, particle laden air is drawn through a radial slit. The particles are impacted on to nutrient agar in a petri dish. This dish rotates in steps, so sixty samples from one cloud could be collected on one dish. Rotation is controlled by an electronic timer which enables the duration of the sample to be selected as well as the number of the sample. The petri dishes were all carefully marked and recorded. The timing circuits of the control box were adjusted. The three stage impinger collects three sizes of particle in a manner suitable for biological assessment. It collects air at 55 litres/min. Three sizes of particle are collected in different parts of the apparatus: larger than 6 microns, between 3 and 6 microns and less than 3 microns. The apparatus was set up including a baffle to increase efficiency of collection of large particles. Each three-stage sampler was operated for half an hour. Dilution tubes were prepared for later assessment. The cyclone sampler collects air at 75 l/min. Particles derived from the cloud are washed into a bijou bottle. In field use, the bottle was changed every five minutes. The samples were carried in a special box. In the cascade impactor, particles from the air are impacted on a microscope slide. These were coated with a sticky surface and loaded into the impactor. All samples are stored in a refrigerator until needed. The flow rate of all the samplers is controlled by a critical orifice and was measured and recorded. Meanwhile meteorological data was collected and analysed. Observations and facsimile data was also used. The samples of Escherichia coli have been produced back at the plant for weeks before they were needed, so they could undergo rigorous toxicity tests. The E. coli was mixed with spores of Bacillus globigii and put into barrels. On the day of the trial, the barrels arrived at Portland Naval base. They were loaded onto "Icewhale", an Experimental Trial Vessel., which works for the Admiralty Underwater Weapons Establishment, Portland. The crew changed on the jetty into special suits, so contamination did not occur. Spray-heads were mounted on a manifold at the rear of the ship. They were connected by a hose, to a control panel which controlled the spray. The ship left, and below deck the laboratory people prepared the sampling equipment. A sample of the cloud a short distance from the spray was to be collected. The ship made for a point upwind of the control site. The float was launched. Background samples of the air at sea were taken for comparison with inland air. The spray crew wore protective clothing and gave the barrels a final measurement and stir. The barrels were connected, via hoses to the control panel. Air was bubbled through the suspension to prevent it from settling and then the control panels and sprays were prepared. Charts were drawn, and from all the information available, the decision was made as to where spraying should commence. The sites for the inland sampling sites was also decided. With all meteorological conditions satisfied the trial was started. The ventilators of the ship were covered, the compressor which supplies air for the sprays started and the order for the sprays to be turned on was given. Once the sprays were working satisfactorily, the ship made an S-Turn, and a sample of the cloud only 200 feet from the spray was collected. This would be used to prove the particles were not damaged during the spraying. The ship turned on course, and its progress along the chosen track was carefully monitored. During the spraying, samples of the suspension were taken for subsequent analysis. Measurements of air and water temperature, as well as wind speed were regularly taken and recorded. Samples were carefully collected and appropriately treated before being transferred to sample bottles. Some was set aside for later analysis by the labelled anti-body method. Aliquots of the remainder were diluted and plated out, and then transferred to the hot room along with the petri dishes exposed by the slit samplers. The slides from the cascade impactor were packed and returned to HQ. When the bacteria had grown into visible colonies, the dishes were removed from the hot room and each colony of E. coli counted. The numbers were logged, and from them, the dose and viability of E. coli of each size fraction, in each of the clouds, and at each sampling station was calculated. From the meteorological data and the slit sampler, the time from when the sample had been taken could be deduced. A graph of the viability of E. coli as a function of duration of airborne travel was produced. It clearly shows that organisms containing larger particles survive much better than those in small ones. Representative colonies of E. coli were taken, cultured and examined using anti-sera to confirm the identity of the particles collected. The number of colonies and bacteria was counted with the aid of a microscope, from each sample, so a histogram of concentration per litre as a function of time at each site could be made. It was possible to build up a picture of the results of the trial. At the nearest sampling station the concentration of airborne particles was high and the cloud lasted 15 minutes. At the second station the concentration was less, and the cloud lasted 35 minutes. At the third, concentration was lower again and the cloud took 50 minutes to pass, at the fourth 55 minutes, and at the fifth point 90 minutes, concentration getting less with increased distance downwind from the spray site. A person breathing in 10 litres of air a minute, would take in a dose of 16,300 organisms at the first site, 5,800 at the second, 3,700 at the third, 2,100 at the fourth, and 2,300 at the fifth. The dose decreased with distance downwind, and became more constant at the further outposts. The viability of the organism is of particular interest - the ones in particles capable of penetrating the trachea and lungs. They are the ones in particles less than 6 microns in size. At the first station, the viability of such organisms was 89%, at the second 96%, at the third 74%, at the fourth it was 59% and at the fifth 22%.
  • Alternative Title: MICROBIOLOGICAL RESEARCH ESTABLISHMENT FIELD TRIAL RS 13 [Alternative Title] PORTON DOWN TRIALS NON-NITRATE COLLECTION [Allocated Series Title]
  • Colour: Colour
  • Digitised:
  • Object_Number: DED 253
  • Sound: Sound
  • Access Conditions: IWM Attribution: © Crown copyright. IWM (DED 253)
  • Featured Period: 1946-1975
  • Production Date: 1968
  • Production Country: GB
  • Production Details: Ministry of Defence (Production sponsor) Chemical Defence Experimental Establishment, Porton Down, Film and Trials Unit (Production company)
  • Personalities, Units and Organisations:
  • Keywords: (format)
  • Physical Characteristics: Colour format: Colour Sound format: Sound Soundtrack language: English Title language: English Subtitle language: None
  • Technical Details: Format: 16mm Number of items/reels/tapes: 1 Footage: 1200 ft; Running time: 30 mins
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  • Link to IWM Collections page:

    DED 253

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