The One-Million-Liter Test Sphere—also known as the Test Sphere, the Horton Test Sphere, the Cloud Study Chamber, Building 527, and the “Eight Ball” (or “8-ball”)—is a decommissioned

biological warfare Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war. Bio ...

(BW) chamber and testing facility located on

Fort Detrick Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Historically, Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, i ...

, Maryland, USA.

Guillemin, Jeanne Jeanne Harley Guillemin (March 6, 1943 - November 15, 2019) was an American medical anthropologist and author, who for 25 years taught at Boston College as a Professor of Sociology and for over ten years was a senior fellow in the Security Studie ...

(2005), ''Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism'',

Columbia University Press Columbia University Press is a university press based in New York City, and affiliated with Columbia University. It is currently directed by Jennifer Crewe (2014–present) and publishes titles in the humanities and sciences, including the fiel ...

, pg 97. It was constructed and utilized by the

U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories The U.S. Army Biological Warfare Laboratories (USBWL) were a suite of research laboratories and pilot plant centers operating at Camp (later Fort) Detrick, Maryland, United States beginning in 1943 under the control of the U.S. Army Chemical Co ...

as part of its BW research program from 1951 to 1969. It is the largest

aerobiology chamber Aerobiology (from Ancient Greek, Greek wiktionary:ἀήρ, ἀήρ, ''aēr'', "air"; wiktionary:βίος, βίος, ''bios'', "life"; and wiktionary:-λογία, -λογία, ''wiktionary:-logia, -logia'') is a branch of biology that studies orga ...

ever constructed and was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in 1977.

The structure

The

stainless steel Stainless steel is an alloy of iron that is resistant to rusting and corrosion. It contains at least 11% chromium and may contain elements such as carbon, other nonmetals and metals to obtain other desired properties. Stainless steel's corros ...

test sphere, a

cloud chamber A cloud chamber, also known as a Wilson cloud chamber, is a particle detector used for visualizing the passage of ionizing radiation. A cloud chamber consists of a sealed environment containing a supersaturated vapour of water or alcohol. ...

used to study static microbial aerosols, is a four-story high, 131-ton structure. Its ,

carbon steel Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states: * no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, cobalt ...

hull was designed to withstand the internal detonation of "hot" biological bombs without risk to outsiders. It was originally contained within a cubical brick building. Its purpose was the study of infectious agent aerosols and testing of pathogen-filled munitions. The device was designed to allow exposure of animals and humans to carefully controlled numbers of organisms by an aerosol (inhalational) route. Live, tethered animals were inserted into the chamber along with BW bombs for exposure tests. Human volunteers breathed metered aerosols of

Q fever Q fever or query fever is a disease caused by infection with ''Coxiella burnetii'', a bacterium that affects humans and other animals. This organism is uncommon, but may be found in cattle, sheep, goats, and other domestic mammals, including ...

tularemia Tularemia, also known as rabbit fever, is an infectious disease caused by the bacterium ''Francisella tularensis''. Symptoms may include fever, skin ulcers, and enlarged lymph nodes. Occasionally, a form that results in pneumonia or a throat infe ...

organisms through ports along the perimeter of the sphere.

History (1947-1969)

One-Million-Liter Test Sphere, Fort Detrick, Maryland

Herbert G. Tanner Herbert may refer to: People Individuals * Herbert (musician), a pseudonym of Matthew Herbert Name * Herbert (given name) * Herbert (surname) Places Antarctica * Herbert Mountains, Coats Land * Herbert Sound, Graham Land Australia * Herbert, ...

, the head of Camp (now Fort) Detrick's Munitions Division, had envisioned an enclosed environment where biological tests could be conducted on site, rather than at remote places like

Dugway Proving Ground Dugway Proving Ground (DPG) is a U.S. Army facility established in 1942 to test biological and chemical weapons, located about southwest of Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, and south of the Utah Test and Training Range. Location Dugway P ...

, Utah and Horn Island, Mississippi. The facility was constructed during 1947 and 1948 and became operational at Camp Detrick in 1950. The test sphere was utilized during the Operation Whitecoat studies (1954–73), the first exposure taking place on January 25, 1955.

History (1969-present day)

The test sphere has not been used since 1969, when the US offensive BW program was disestablished by President

Nixon Richard Milhous Nixon (January 9, 1913April 22, 1994) was the 37th president of the United States, serving from 1969 to 1974. A member of the Republican Party, he previously served as a representative and senator from California and was ...

. The brick building housing the test sphere was destroyed by fire in 1974. However, the chamber itself was placed on the

br>
in 1977.

References

External links

*Photos of the “Eight Ball�

http://www.emedicine.com/emerg/images/Large/720USAMRIID02.JP

*, including photo from 2001, at Maryland Historical Trust {{National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Closed medical research facilities of the United States Army Buildings and structures in Frederick County, Maryland Military facilities on the National Register of Historic Places in Maryland Government buildings completed in 1950 Biological warfare facilities Fort Detrick National Register of Historic Places in Frederick County, Maryland United States biological weapons program

The structure

History (1947-1969)

History (1969-present day)

See also

References

External links