Frome, Somerset

‘The Fluorescent Particle Trials’ were a series of tests carried out by scientists from Porton Down between 1955 and 1963. They were designed to help the Ministry of Defense assess Britain’s vulnerability if the Russian were to have released clouds of deadly germs over the country. In one of these trials zinc cadmium sulphide was towed along a road near Frome in Somerset where it spewed the chemical for an hour
While the Government has insisted the chemical is safe, cadmium is recognised as a cause of lung cancer and during the Second World War was considered by the Allies as a chemical weapon.

Porton Down

Porton Down is the United Kingdom’s government military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire. It is located within a vast Ministry of Defense
During the Second World War, research concentrated on chemical weapons such as nitrogen mustard, plus biological weapons including anthrax and botulinum toxin.
In the 1950’s chemical and biological tests were carried out on ‘volunteer’ service personnel
Presently the site is involved amongst other activities in the testing of anthrax and toxic nerve agents on animals.

With thanks to Experimentsrus for the the Freedom of Information request to get these series of videos, that show biological field trials in the Porton Down site in Wiltshire in the 1950’s.