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Show do .halt (Editors Note: At the time this interview was conducted. Environmental and Life Sciences Chief J. ('lift on Spendlove was away on business. In his absence, we talked to Environmental and Ecology branch b 0n chambers (where microorganisms are mixed with air to simulate open-ai- r testing and studied for both concen- -' t ration and sampling techniques) to others that maintain various temperatures and can simulate different environments. The testing and designing of military equipment in these chambers is one of the labs other responsibilities. scope, which we dont have now, costs anywhere from $35,000 to $100,000, it doesnt take long to spend that kind of money. These expensive facilities support the laboratories two important mis- cover (hem with an aerosol of fungal spores over the material. Here they sit at various temperatures and humidities for periods up to ten weeks to determine the ability of compo- nents to withstand prolonged effects of fungii in a tropical environment. in March. Located at this complex are separate buildings that house laboratories, test chambers and assembly lines for assaying field samples. chief Dr. Horace Rees.) by C. W. Beaman Dr. Horace Rees, chief of the En-- iJw? vironmental and Ecology Branch loans forward In his ch.lr and e, plains. I think that you can get a fcol for the public reaction to DPG's microbiologists at the installation because, as you can see, the other technical personnel are located in Ditto area while we were shoved seven miles farther down the road at Baker area. Rees is kidding, of course. But lie-cau- se sions, which are (1) Assay and Tech- Morrison, Chief) nology (Mr.-Johand (2) Environmental and Ecology. First, well take a look at the As- Technology THIS BRANCH has the respon- - of pathogenic microbiology, one can see exactly why the division was iso-lat wl in the desert away from every- - CURRENTLY, however, the Divi- sion s offices are housed in Bldg, 4216 in Ditto Technical Center dur- ing renovation of Baker s Bldg. 2028 . sibility of supporting the different field tests tasked to us, Rees begins. When samplers are brought in for analysis, we count and size different electrical and particles ranging from bacteria to dust. These facilities range from aerosol plumbing facilities, which began in July of last year. ' r'S . f La if V s - : . n to mill,on very expensive, dollars, Rees estimates, When you think of a scanning electron micro- the Division works in the field I1 ; VNfc. ill i . V'S v'. .?. S. ?r ' ss y,- - - I'Xv t WE PUT various pieces of equipment into the chamber and , ' With larger equipment like tanks, we use the defensive test chamber and look only at the filtration system to find out whether it will remove all, or just a percentage, of the generated particles. Most recently, we have been looking at the various components of . 1 clothing (i.e. masks, hats, coats and boots). We contaminate them with bacterial spores and determine how many of the microorganisms are re- moved from the clothing during laundering. IN THE laboratories, Rees says, animals are used in many of the experiments, including a special strain of guinea pig. Not only are they inexpensive and convenient, but the animals have been developed over the years to provide higher reliabil- - ity than any other population of guinea pigs. Ten years ago the building located in firont of the veterinarian clinic was called the Animal Colony, Rees remembers. Its purpose was to raise literally thousands of guinea pigs and mice each year. But when the Presidential proclamation was issued to cease all offensive-type testing, the need for animals dropped drastically. BECAUSE WE didnt need all of the space anymore and the number of animals we produced was very small, we simply took some of the breeders, moved them to Baker and kept the strain going. To support all the various future tests which are to come to the labs, Rees skyil the' division asks for prfor-VHS- N ' ' ' .o55f T k r." XV--. r J fy ,v-- . mm III: The Division, which employs 25 to 27 people, is scheduled to move back to the Baker complex sometime Page 7 THE DESERET SAMPLER, Friday, February 29, 1980 v . ' . ity-ty1 'T . Yi 1 V r': .. 4 . I' "P1 Max Green, Cordelico George Olsen set traps to to right) (Ift Valerio and collect rodent specimens. investigations beforehand. pe These tests are known as methodology investigations. If we perceive a problem occurring with any test, Rees explains, we estimate how much work will be needed to correct it and send the Coop student Bruce Harper from Utah State Uni versity (left) operates a fermentation apparatus with . proposal to TECOM. They, in turn, send it back as a directive if the work is adequately justified. Currently, most of the methodology programs underway concern the XM19-SM- 2 biological detection sys- tem and its sampling unit, which Rees says will eventually be taken to the field as a portable unit to give the commander an alarm system in case of biological attack. As an example, Rees explained they need to know whether a pathogenic material will have the desirea viability and aerosol particle size to test the sampling devices, Thus, a methodology program is .funded to find the answer before the material is used in the actual aerosol chamber test. s ' V1 v.V t kjlf . V ;' r. This area of Baker Laboratory testing involves three different areas .A'.?""' : - t' ENVIRONMENTAL AND ECOLOGY BRANCH ' - of expertise. They are: (1) The sup- port of toxicology studies; (2) the work of the ecology survey group, and (3) environmental studies. In their work with toxins, or poi- uses animals, such as sons, Bakor rabbits, to perform simple skin tests f Ih Console. Mr. 11. Dale Davis operates the Biotron Jade Adams. (Photos by C. Hobson) or studies concerning the animals entire physiological makeup. THE END RESULTS, according to Rees, are very accurate. It is true that we as human beings are very distant from them, but these animals have some similarities to man, such as their blood chemistry, which makes them react to toxins in much the same way we would. Rees also pointed out that pri- to man bio-th-at mates, which logically, are. more expensive and harder to obtain so theym replaced . off-po- nothing has changed within the livestock population bordering the Proving Ground. The other area Baker Lab studies involves the environment,' which Rees says is becoming more import- ant as public awareness grows, are-close- r WE JUST, recently completed the annual update of DPG s environ mental impact statement for all the operations performed here at Dug-wa- with rabbits even though they are less desirable for some testing. In terms of ecology, the environ- y, and studies for other installations are in the exploratory stages. Each statement is reviewed by local and state authorities, which look to see if the test will have any impact on the environment. If the impact is sufficiently great, Rees explains, the commanding officer may prohibit or discontinue scheduling testing. SOMETIMES the statements be- come relatively simple. When the National Guard units come to DPG, their driving tears up the terrain for example. We have to issue a statement to anticipate the damage their activities will have to vegetation, and if any animal species will be endangered. We also try to mentalist explained that before the banning of offensive weapons test- ing, Ike Proving Ground was charged with making sure that any testing did not adversely affect the animals in the environment. CURRENTLY, Baker surveys their faunal colony of animals that have been kept isolated in the laboratory. Thee animals, explains are kept so we always have a relatively constant control and also provide a baseline for disease out Rees, Lrcnk. Because of the expense, livestock are not kept for control purposes. As a consequence Baker personnal go . st to test livestock 30, 40 and miles away. With these 100 even blood samples, we can make sure - anticipate the. increase in dust Vil- I T Li it 'i- 2 -v - Z' storms that will occur in English lage But with all the installation re-- J ports completed, Rees smiles, we have received increased recognition. In fact, weve just had a group return from Edgewood Arsenal where they were gathering data to prepare their installation impact assessment,, and weve assisted many others. LASTLY, THE branch has to keep up with .all of the current federal legislation concerning the environment to protect our commander from personal liability. So how has Rees and his colleagues been affected by their important studies and tests? We have become more acutely aware of the damage that could be done if a potentially dangerous situation is ignored. I think there nothing but improvement in the attitude of the public' here, on the Proving Grdimd, and the nation as a whole. has-bee- Mr. Dick Davis works with the Jewel' Mortensen operates. Spcctrospan. |