Dutch national research institute TNO carried out chemical weapons experiments for the Dutch Defense Ministry in the 1950s, Dutch news magazine HP/DeTijd has reported.
A journalist for the magazine found out from the Defense Ministry's archives that TNO scientists tested nerve agents on live animals. The agents included sarin, tuban, soman and one known simply as Stof (compound) X.
The experiments took place on the Wadden Sea island of Vlieland in the north of the Netherlands and in Harskamp in the Veluwe region in central Netherlands. Testing later moved to the Algerian desert.
The TNO research institute said in a press release Tuesday that at the time of the research the risks of an attack by weapons of mass destruction were very real. It said the purpose of the research was to protect the Dutch forces and the population from possible attacks by the Cold War rivals.
A spokesperson for the Dutch Defense Ministry said the Netherlands no longer had the intention of using chemical weapons after the World War II, Radio Netherlands reported Wednesday.
Before the war the Netherlands manufactured and possessed chemical weapons such as mustard gas, Radio Netherlands reported.
Source: Xinhua
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