The Iraqi Biological Weapons Program - Deadly Cultures: Biological Weapons Since 1945 - page 175

TRC from January to October 1988. Although the dates cannot be con-
firmed, there is some evidence to suggest that botulinum toxin was in-
deed produced at the Al Taji facility, though possibly earlier than declared
by Iraq.
Weapons Development
Iraq has stated that the first field trial of a crude BW dissemination device
commenced in February 1988, followed by more sophisticated trials of
BW bombs (the LD-250) filled with biological agent/simulant in April-
May 1988. UNMOVIC has supporting evidence for at least some of these
trials, which involved the expertise of the weapons engineers from the
MSE. In addition to these weapons, according to Iraq an aerosol spray de-
vice was developed in 1987 and 1988 at Al Salman. The device, a modi-
fication of an agricultural crop-duster, was intended for the spraying of
bacteria and was tested with an anthrax simulant.
Enhancement of the Program
Iraq has stated that toward the end of 1987 the head of the TRC submit-
ted a report on the progress of the BW work at Al Salman, and that as a
consequence of this report, Lieutenant General Hussein Kamal (then the
new head of the Military Industrialization Commission) instructed that
the BW program should proceed toward the production of BW agent.
Although Iraq stated that it was the success of the work in 1987 that stim-
ulated the decision for production, UNMOVIC questions whether very
much could have been achieved in the few months the BW team was
working at Al Salman. On the other hand, there is evidence that initial
preparations for large-scale production did begin in late 1987.
At the end of 1987 Iraq placed the first of a series of orders to pur-
chase large quantities of bacterial growth media, which eventually to-
taled over 40 tons. In April 1988 an equipment requirement list was pre-
pared, apparently in response to a directive from Lieutenant General
Hussein Kamal. The list included three sizable (5,000-liter) fermenters,
two for botulinum toxin and one for anthrax production. Dryers and
other processing equipment for anthrax were also specified.