From January 1962-October 1969, Rocky Mountain Arsenal “grew, purified and biodemilitarized” plant pathogen wheat stem rust [Puccinia graminis, var. tritici] for the Air Force. TX-treated grain was grown at the Arsenal from 1962-1968 in Sections 23-26. Unprocessed TX was also transported from Beale AFB for purification, storage, and disposal.

The following docs outline these activities at RMA:

• Army doc on disposal of wheat rust stock [1970]
• Army to EPA on TX, [1999]
• Buried Treasure,  email from for RMA worker Jim Knipp to the CPEO list [August 1998]
• Col. Shear‘s press conference describing TX destruction
• Col. Shear’s memoirs on the “Biological Program at Rocky” [unpublished manuscript, reprinted with permission from the author]. From the memoir:

The point is that there is still 90.00 pounds of TX located in the northern portion of the Arsenal. Considering the trouble and money involved in the demil of TX it would seem stupid to ignore that agent. If the government decided to leave it there it would appear that this should be questioned due to the cost already expended and the amount of effort that had been expended. If the government were to say there was no danger with the TX then why was such effort then take to contain the already dead agent?

• Surveillance Instructions for TX Agent, [n.d., from the JARDF]
• Various docs written in the 1970s from the JARDF on TX, includes info on location and disposal

Question for researchers: Was the visit by Japanese scientists to RMA connected in any way to Project 112, which also field tested wheat rust in Okinawa?

• The Army’s [1990] response to Rep. Pat Schroeder (D-CO) request for info on Project 112

• GAO on Project 112 [2004]

• Project 112 and the Japanese scientists [see Sheldon H. Harris. Factories of Death : Japanese Biological Warfare, 1932-45, and the American Cover-up. New York: Routledge, 1994] | Documents verifying Japan Group I-63 officials visited RMA, [September 6-10, 1962] | Review, The Truth About the Army Noborito Research Institute, Intelligence in Recent Public Literature [2001]

• U.S. Army Activity in the U.S. Biowarfare Program, @ National Security Archive. Pages L8-9, volume II  discusses TX at RMA [February 24, 1977]