Mustard Gas and
American Race-
Based Human
Experimentation
in World War II
Susan L. Smith
During World War II, scientists funded by
the United States government conducted
mustard gas experiments on 60,000
American soldiers as part of military preparation
for potential chemical warfare.1 One aspect of the
chemical warfare research program on mustard
gas involved race-based human experimentation.
In at least nine research projects conducted during
the 1940s, scientists investigated how so-called
racial di!erences a!ected the impact of mustard
gas exposure on the bodies of soldiers. Building on
cultural beliefs about “race,” these studies occurred
on military bases and universities, which became
places for racialized human experimentation.
This paper examines the risks of racialized science
and the logic of racial thinking as revealed in the mustard
gas experiments.
Race and Medicine
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