Secret Subway Experiments: The US Army’s Germ Warfare Tests

On June 6, 1966, U.S. Army scientists conducted a covert experiment in New York City's subway system, aiming to understand the spread of biological agents in a densely populated area. Equipped with air sampling machines and light bulbs filled with Bacillus subtilis bacteria, the team shattered these bulbs in subway tunnels to observe the dissemination of the bacteria among unsuspecting commuters.

This experiment was part of a larger germ warfare testing program that spanned from 1949 to 1969, involving at least 239 experiments on civilians without their consent. These tests violated the Nuremberg Code, which mandates voluntary, informed consent for research participants. Initially believed to be harmless, Bacillus subtilis and other bacteria used in these experiments are now recognized as potential health hazards, capable of causing infections and food poisoning.

Leonard Cole, director of the Terror Medicine and Security Program at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School, detailed these experiments in his book Clouds of Secrecy: The Army's Germ Warfare Tests Over Populated Areas. According to Cole, the New York subway experiments were particularly alarming due to the vast number of people exposed. During peak hours, the bacteria released from broken light bulbs would be pulled through the air by departing trains, engulfing commuters in bacterial clouds. A report documented that it took between 4 and 13 minutes for passengers to be exposed, with over a million people affected during the tests.

The existence of the germ warfare program came to light through news reports and Freedom of Information Act requests in the early 1970s. Scientists involved in the program were summoned to testify before Congress. Charles Senseney, an Army scientist, revealed that city officials were unaware of the tests and noted that a more dangerous agent could have had catastrophic consequences.

Declassified documents and testimonies highlight the chilling conclusion: the experiments demonstrated that covert dissemination of pathogenic agents in the subway system during peak hours could expose a significant portion of New York City's working population to disease.