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• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06157968
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: U
• Document Page Count: 5
• Document Creation Date: December 28, 2022
• Document Release Date: September 26, 2017
• Case Number: F-2012-01432
• Publication Date: December 3, 1981

Approved for Release: 2015/01/05 006157968
National
Foreign
Assessment
Center
Science and Weapons
Daily Review
3 December 1981
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mintiMmielrmaigmilliinApproved for Release: 2015/01/05 006157968
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CONTENTS
CHINA/VIETNAM: EVIDENCE MOUNTS FOR
VIETNAMESE USE OF "YELLOW RAIN"
3
Reports
about Vietnamese use of
ye ow toxin", coupled with the
tindings of US laboratories, -
is building a convincing case
for Vietnamese use of lethal agents,
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CHINA/VIETNAM: EVIDENCE MOUNTS FOR VIETNAMESE USE OF "YELLOW
RAIN"
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We have received of alleged use of
"yellcw rain" or "yellow toxin" against Chinese troops
during the 1979 Sino�Vietnamese border conflict.
Exposure to "yellow toxin" is consistent with some of
the symptoms described ir, of unusual
injuries sustained in the conflict that required
medical evacuation to for treatment. However,
there is some evidence that the Vietnamese used a
standard chemical agent and possibly a nerve agent
against the Chinese.
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3 DECEMBER 1981
technicians were sent to Kampuc ea a ou s x mon
to collect samples of possible lethal agents used by
the Vietnamese. The samples were tested for all
standard chemical warfare agents and found negative.
They were not tested for mycotoxin, a fact that
suggests that the Chinese did not identify the "yellow
toxin" of 1979 and may have only discovered its
identity from recent news articles.
On the other hand, analyses of
physical samples from areas of Laos and Kampuchea
subjected to "yellow rain" attacks continue to provide
firm evidence of offensive use of lethal agents. The
most recent result shows high levels of at least two
very toxic trichothecene mycotoxins in a powder scraped.
from a rock in Laos. Earlier results revealed the
presence of these two toxins as well as two other
mycotoxins in samples of water, soil and vegetation.
Equally significant are the negative control samples,
which counter the argument that the toxins present are
the result of natural contamination. These control
samples include rice and corn, which are materials
often contaminated naturally. These results are all the
more credible because the samples were given
without identifying data (a
double-blind stuay), and consistently
reports accurately on "spiked" positive control
samples.
Blood samples have been collected from individuals
exposed to "yellow rain" and from unexposed (control)
individuals. Standard blood tests were conducted.
Although not conclusive, the results supported toxin
exposure. Portions of the blood samples are now being
analyzed directly for evidence of toxins.
A total of 15 samples from three different attack sites
and at least two control sites in Laos and Kampuchea
have now been analyzed. This physical evidence provides
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3 TIECEMBER 1981
strong support for the thesis that lethal
chemical/biological agents have been and are being used
in Southeast Asia.
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