RECENT CHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING NEWS ARTICLE BY LOIS EMBER ON "YELLOW RAIN" 8 JAN 84

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: FOIA Collection
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 06158171
• 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: February 29, 1984

Approved for Release: 2015/01/05 006158171
2 9 FEB 1984
MEMORANDUM FOR THE RECORD
FROM:
SUBJECT: Recent Chemical and Engineering News Article by
Lois Ember on "Yellow Rain" 8 Jan 84
1. Lois Ember has w-itten the most complete, to date, piece
on the USG case for "toxii." warfare based on many interviews...
including a backgrounder with myself, and many other IC officers.
The conclusions are stridently anti-government in general. Spe-
cifically Ember believes the "science" done on toxins (not neces-
sarily CW-Use) is bad. Our decision to grant a backgrounder was
in hindsight good, because she clearly states the view that clas-
sified data exists and was the major element in the judgments we
reached. On the other hand, .she discounts the data because it
cannot be open to public analysis. And she does not report some
absolutely critical "pro-government" scientific issues we went to
tremendous lengths to tell her about...notably the peer review
process we used for the IC estimates in which over a dozen non-
USG academicians vetted our data and conclusions and coordinated
them prior to publication. Furthermore, she ignores sample data
we gave her, and uses that provided by Matthew Meselson, even to
the point of not even quoting important statements in flat disa-
greement to some of his "facts."
2. There are, despite accurate statements about non-scien-
tific evidence, some egregious errors and omissions. An example
of such errors, which the reporter was told specifically were
errors in background interviews:
o "All US samples contain bee feces or pollen", when she
was told only a few do...all but two of which have no
toxins.
o That "food stuffs were not used as controls".. .when
they were tested and were negative...even from near
attack sites where both victims and environmental sam-
ples were positive.
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SUBJECT: Recent Chemical and Engineering News Article by
Lois Ember on "Yellow Rain" 8 Jan 84
o "positive samples were tested in only one laboratory
and not confirmed independently". In fact, several
Non-US labs as well have done comparative and corrobo-
rative analyses. Her section outlined "no support from
other nations" is flat wrong... And Ember was shown
data she chose not to include. She repeats this error
several times throughout.
o The "Southeast Asian Scholars" used to refute refugee
reports are not qualified experts, include a member of
the Australian Communist Party, and Pathet Lao advi-
sors. Physicians used to refute medical evidence never
examined victims.
o Many U.S. officers, such as Col. D. Lane AARM/Bangkok
are so selectively quoted as to be misquoted or quoted
out-of-context as to give opposite impressions of what
they said or believe..
o She implies that the U.S. government has falsely spiked
samples, or should have known they were spiked by
collectors. Absurd.
o Numerous statements about the presence of mycotoxins in
nature are not germane, or wrong. Notable is reference
to Fusarium research done at Mahidol University and
presence of Fusarium as toxin-producing leaf pathogens.
o Canadian medical officers are quoted as saying a victim
they obtained autopsy tissues from" have a form of
malaria".. .they actually wrote in a scientific paper
that malaria was endemic, the victim probably had
malaria, but no pathological diagnosis of manner of
death based on autopsy data was possible.
o No arguments against the pollen and bee feces theory
are given in the article, even though Ember had a
written analysis negating the "theory" available.
Further, she did not fairly report the opposing views
even from the palyonologists she spoke with. Pollen
studies largely refuting the theory from Southeast
Asian soientists and agricultural institutes were not
reported at all.
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"-srefigz_
SUBJECT: Recent Chemical and Engineering News Article by
Lois Ember on "Yellow Rain" 8 Jan 84
o Statements that the reported medical effects do not
match known laboratory evidence of human toxicity to
mycotoxins are incorrect. The reporter was told of
U.S. Army inhalation studies showing the toxins when
inhaled are as potent as conventional agents. More
importantly, she did not present the independent view
of National Academy of Science - National Research
Council that said the same, plus statement by the
physician - toxiocologists of the NAS who found the
toxins were a more lethal agent than mustard gas, and
about as lethal as first generation nerve agents, and
that the mycotoxins gave the same signs and symptoms as
reported by victims.
o She reported "the Intelligence Community pushed the
State Department into making the scientific data
public." Ember was, in fact told by State, DoD, and
myself that the Intelligence Community reserved judg-
ment on the scientific data, and told the State Depart-
ment that the scientific data alone did not make
the case. In fact, she asked me if it was true, as she
had been told, that in 1981, I recommended to the CW
Interdepartmental Group that the mycotoxin data could
not withstand scientific scrutiny and
should not be made public. This was true. But when
asked the question, I told her "no comment" since the
matter was outside the ground rules of the interview.
She chose, apparently, to report the issue as 180
degrees from what others had told her.
3. Paradoxically, I regret to say that although my comments
were quoted (when included) accurately, the above examples indi-
cate Ember either chose not to believe me on other points she
excluded or neglected to note my statements for other reasons. On
the positive side, she appears to have used many of my views on
intelligence matters even though, on the negative side, she
expunged all references to my prodigious description of the
external scientific peer review we used for the SNIEs. Her
comments at the end of the interview with me were a harbinger
when she told us "material in classified studies didn't exist for
her, and she felt noohLition to use our views on any but
unclassified data."
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Thrreiirtz_
SUBJECT: Recent Chemical and Engineering News Article by
Lois Ember on "Yellow Rain" 8 Jan 84
4. Many of the issues identified in the article for
improving collection and analysis are valid. They are ones we
have already identified, and many of which her interviewees
attempted honesty to identify. Credit for this post-audit was not
cited.
�
(b)(3)
"Thwrefizz.._
Approved for Release: 2015/01/05 006158171
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SMSLIZL1
SUBJECT: Recent Chemical and Engineering News Article By
Lois Ember on "Yellow Rain" 8 Jan 84
Distribution:
Orig - File
1 - AC/STD
1 - C/LSB
1 - OSWR (DD/SWR
1 - C/STD
1 - NI/AL
1 -
OSWR/STD/CC
& D/SWR)
(D.Low)
DDI/IG
(28 Feb 84)
5
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