Military personnel exposed to the rocket fuel during the 1991 Persian Gulf War may have mistakenly thought they were under chemical weapon attacks. Exposure to the rocket fuel would include encounters with fumes, vapor, or residue from missile fuels and oxidizers on the battlefield during the conflict.
Effects from Iraqi rockets and rocket propellants on troops have been under review and analysis for several years; the report is the most recent compilation of data on the subject.
Iraq used the oxidizer called red fuming nitric acid, combined with a form of kerosene in combustion to create the thrust needed to launch a rocket or a missile. Iraq used the combination in the Scud, Silkworm, Kyle, and Guideline missiles.
Variants of the Scud Ballistic Missile, also called the SS-1C, were fired at U.S. and allied forces and population centers in Saudi Arabia and Israel. In response to the missile attacks, the U.S. fired Patriot interceptor missiles at incoming Scuds. When the system struck a Scud, fuel from the missile may have fallen on ground troops.
Since the war, veterans and other observers have reported war-time incidents involving colored clouds and mist having strong odors and causing an immediate burning sensation to the eyes, skin, nose, and throat, as well as respiratory irritation, nausea, and vomiting. Some have speculated that these effects, commonly known as Gulf War Syndrome, were the result of the use of chemical warfare agents against U.S. and other forces.
While investigators have not found any evidence that Iraqi Scuds or other missiles fired during the war carried chemical agents, the report suggests that it is possible that "veterans who have suggested chemical warfare agent or exposure may actually have been exposed to weapon-system components and industrial chemicals such as liquid rocket fuel and oxidizers."
The study listed several ways in which servicemembers might have encountered fumes, vapor, or other residue from the rockets:
-Being downwind of the breakup of a rocket, its impact, or intercept of a fired enemy missile;
-Downwind from a coalition air strike or attack on a target where missile fuels were stored and then released into the air after the attack;
-Participation in ground or helicopter maneuvers near such hazards;
-Physical contact with fragments of rockets or missiles that may have contained hazardous materials.
While protective measures against the nitric acid fuel were used, the Pentagon said U.S. forces had no equipment to detect its presence. The report listed possible locations during the war where troops might have been exposed to the fuels, and suggested future steps that the military could take to ensure protection against these hazards.
A related type of rocket fuel and oxidizer is used aboard U.S. space launch vehicles and also the thruster system of the U.S. space shuttles. The Air Force and NASA keep the public and news media miles away from the launching pads as protection in the event of a launch explosion.
In January 1997, an Air Force Delta II rocket exploded shortly after liftoff, showering the area around its Cape Canaveral pad with burning fuels and debris. No injuries to persons or properties occurred, and the press near the pad were evacuated into a nearby blockhouse.
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