On 10 March 1991, US troops carried out deliberate demolition of Iraqi rockets at Khamisiyah ammunition storage facility in Southern Iraq. It was subsequently discovered that these rockets contained the nerve agents sarin and cyclosarin, and that some nerve agent would have been released by the demolitions. It has been suggested that the health of those in the region at the time may have been adversely affected by exposure to the nerve agent released.
The purpose of this paper is to provide the MOD’s assessment of the 2002 US Department of Defense (DoD) modelling of the events at Khamisiyah.
It discusses changes to the modelling of the plume, since the initial US model in 1997, and the possible level of exposure, before examining the potential implications for the health effects of UK veterans.
While the DoD 2002 paper contains no new evidence specific to UK troops, it does provide a greater understanding of the events at Khamisiyah.