The Vigo Ordnance Plant, also known as the Vigo Chemical Plant or simply Vigo Plant, was a
United States Army
The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...
facility built in 1942 to produce conventional weapons. In 1944 it was converted to produce biological agents for the
U.S. bio-weapons program. Although the plant never actually produced bio-weapons before the end of
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, it did produce 8000 pounds of an
anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
simulant. After the war, the plant was transferred to
Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
, who operated it until the plants closure in 2008.
Location
The Vigo Ordnance Plant was located on of a more than government-owned tract and cost $21 million to build (the equivalent of $366 million in 2023).
[ The facility was constructed in the Honey Creek Township in Vigo County, ]Indiana
Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...
.[ The plant was located about six miles (10 km) south of ]Terre Haute
Terre Haute ( ) is a city in Vigo County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 58,389 and its metropolitan area had a population of 168,716.
Located along the Wabash River about e ...
.[ The area surrounding the plant was flat, covered with cornfields and dotted by hog farms.][ The site of the former Vigo Plant is south of ]Interstate 70
Interstate 70 (I-70) is a major east–west Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15, I-15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to Interstate 695 (Maryland), I-695 and Maryland Route 570 (MD 570) in Woodlawn, Baltimo ...
near Highway 41 and Indiana State Highways 150 and 63.[Pfizer Terre Haute Plant on The Market]
", '' Inside Indiana Business'', November 10, 2008, accessed January 11, 2009.
History
Construction and conversion
The U.S. Army Ordnance Corps constructed the Vigo Plant in 1942, prior to the official start of the U.S. biological weapons program.[ The Vigo Ordnance Plant began producing conventional explosives and munitions on February 18, 1942.][McCormick, Mike. ''Terre Haute: Queen City of the Wabash'',]
Google Books
, Arcadia Publishing, 2005, pp. 129-130, (). The Army decommissioned the factory less than year later,[ and on June 30, 1943 the plant was transferred to the ]U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...
.[ Portions of the Vigo Plant were then leased to the Delco Radio Corporation for the manufacture of military electronics equipment.][ The plant served in this capacity until May 1944.][
On May 8, 1944 the Army Special Projects Division (SPD) directed the Vigo Plant to convert its facilities for full-scale ]biological agent
Biological agents, also known as biological weapons or bioweapons, are pathogens used as weapons. In addition to these living or replicating pathogens, toxins and Toxin#Biotoxins, biotoxins are also included among the bio-agents. More than 1,2 ...
production.[ The plant was converted for ]biological warfare
Biological warfare, also known as germ warfare, is the use of biological toxins or Pathogen, infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, insects, and Fungus, fungi with the intent to kill, harm or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an ...
(BW) use by the H.K. Ferguson Construction Company; they added fermenter tanks, slurry heaters, laboratories and the other necessities of a biological warfare facility.[ The plant was to be the first U.S. anthrax factory and would be utilized filling a British order for ]anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...
bombs.[ In March 1944 the British had placed an order for 500,000 of these bombs which ]Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was a British statesman, military officer, and writer who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1940 to 1945 (Winston Churchill in the Second World War, ...
, remarked, should only be considered a "first installment".[ Meselson, Matthew.]
Bioterror: What Can Be Done?
, ''The New York Review of Books
''The New York Review of Books'' (or ''NYREV'' or ''NYRB'') is a semi-monthly magazine with articles on literature, culture, economics, science and current affairs. Published in New York City, it is inspired by the idea that the discussion of ...
'', Volume 48, Number 20, December 20, 2001, accessed January 11, 2009.
Bio-weapons production
When it was conceived, the initial plan was for the Vigo Plant to be a production facility for anthrax and botulinum toxin
Botulinum toxin, or botulinum neurotoxin (commonly called botox), is a neurotoxic protein produced by the bacterium ''Clostridium botulinum'' and related species. It prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon en ...
.[ The 1944 order converting the plant to a BW facility directed that it become a factory capable of producing 275,000 botulin bombs or one million anthrax bombs per month.][ The core of the Vigo Plant's BW operation was the anthrax fermenters installed during the renovations in 1944.][ There were 12 20,000 gallon fermenter tanks at Vigo, the total of 240,000 gallons which made it the largest bacterial mass-production line anywhere in the world at the time.][
After U.S. BW scientists worked through the problems presented by trying to mass-produce bombs that were to be filled with a deadly biological agent, the production line was essentially ready to operate.][ The line would fill the British four pound anthrax bombs][See also: M114 bomb.] with an anthrax slurry and then cluster
may refer to:
Science and technology Astronomy
* Cluster (spacecraft), constellation of four European Space Agency spacecraft
* Cluster II (spacecraft), a European Space Agency mission to study the magnetosphere
* Asteroid cluster, a small ...
them into the M26 cluster adapter, to form the M33 cluster bomb.[ Regis, Ed. ''The Biology of Doom: The History of America's Secret Germ Warfare Project'',]
Google Books
, Macmillan, 2000 pages 71-74, (). Before production could begin, however, safety testing commenced. The scientific director of the U.S. BW program, Ira Baldwin, selected Walter Nevius, a specialist in pathogen containment, to lead the safety inspections which began when he arrived at Vigo in the summer 1944.[
Nevius was considered conscientious, so much so that at one point the Army wanted to replace him; this resulted in Baldwin resigning his position and becoming an "advisor" to the U.S. BW program.][ The testing regimen that followed extended well into 1945. The first tests ran water through the system, to ensure there were no leaks. A second round of tests were run with an anthrax simulant, '' Bacillus globigii''.][ The plant was pronounced water-tight by Nevius in April 1945 and trial runs with the simulant began in June.][
By the time the plant was ready to produce the simulant the end of ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
was on the horizon. The plant was able to produce about 8,000 pounds of ''B. globgii'' before production was halted in October 1945,[ but was never able to produce any BW agents, including anthrax, before the war ended.][ As October 1945 ended, approximately $800,000 worth of equipment at Vigo was declared surplus.][ Eighteen boxcars were loaded with ]caustic
Caustic most commonly refers to:
* Causticity, the property of being able to corrode organic tissue
** Sodium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic soda''
** Potassium hydroxide, sometimes called ''caustic potash''
** Calcium oxide, sometimes cal ...
s, sulfuric acid
Sulfuric acid (American spelling and the preferred IUPAC name) or sulphuric acid (English in the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth spelling), known in antiquity as oil of vitriol, is a mineral acid composed of the elements sulfur, oxygen, ...
, bleach, tributyl phosphate and 765,000 explosive detonators and shipped elsewhere for storage.[ Vigo Ordnance plant was placed on "stand-by" in December 1945, in reality, the demilitarization process had already begun.][
]
Demilitarization
The plant remained on standby to produce "highly classified material" and in February 1947 four areas of the plant were declared restricted.[ On April 30, 1947 demilitarization of the Vigo Plant began; this allowed prospective buyers to inspect the site.][ Even with the earlier equipment removal, the fermenters remained behind.][ Guillemin, Jeanne. ''Biological Weapons: From the Invention of State-sponsored Programs to Contemporary Bioterrorism'',]
Google Books
, Columbia University Press, 2005, pp. 71-73, (). On December 15, 1947 the Pfizer
Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Pharmaceutical industry, pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered at The Spiral (New York City), The Spiral in Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 184 ...
company executed a 20-year lease agreement with the government to take over the Vigo site.[ The company would begin ]antibiotic
An antibiotic is a type of antimicrobial substance active against bacteria. It is the most important type of antibacterial agent for fighting pathogenic bacteria, bacterial infections, and antibiotic medications are widely used in the therapy ...
manufacture at Vigo in 1948 but the military continued to liquidate the surrounding land into 1949.[ That year a tract was acquired by the Bureau of Prisons to be used as agricultural land, other portions of the Vigo property were acquired by various private entities.][ The BW production facilities at Vigo were eventually replaced by a more modern factory at ]Pine Bluff Arsenal
The Pine Bluff Arsenal is a United States Army installation in Jefferson County, Arkansas, about eight miles northwest of Pine Bluff and thirty miles southeast of Little Rock.
Pine Bluff Arsenal is one of nine Army installations in the United ...
in 1954.[
]
Pfizer's ownership
After the lease agreement, and later the sale of the plant,[ was finalized the company transferred John E. McKeen to the Vigo site in 1948 in preparation for the production of ]streptomycin
Streptomycin is an antibiotic medication used to treat a number of bacterial infections, including tuberculosis, Mycobacterium avium complex, ''Mycobacterium avium'' complex, endocarditis, brucellosis, Burkholderia infection, ''Burkholderia'' i ...
.[ The main objective of Pfizer's Vigo operation in the years after the war was the production of veterinary antibiotics.][ The large fermenters were used during the period after the war to produce ]penicillin
Penicillins (P, PCN or PEN) are a group of beta-lactam antibiotic, β-lactam antibiotics originally obtained from ''Penicillium'' Mold (fungus), moulds, principally ''Penicillium chrysogenum, P. chrysogenum'' and ''Penicillium rubens, P. ru ...
but afterwards sat dormant for decades.[ Of the areas at Vigo not utilized by Pfizer, most were left undisturbed.][ Adjacent to the old BW buildings the company constructed their own facilities for drug manufacturing.][ Mangold, Tom. ''Plague Wars: A True Story of Biological Warfare'',]
Google Books
, Macmillan, 1999, pp. 200-208, ().
After operating the Vigo plant since 1948 Pfizer announced in October 2007 that 600 of the plant's 750 employees would be placed on paid leave.[Greninger, Howard.]
, '' Tribune-Star'', November 13, 2007, accessed January 11, 2009. The announcement followed disappointing sales for the plant's flagship product, an inhaled insulin known as Exubera.[ Beginning in 1999, Pfizer had invested $300 million in the plant and hired 400 additional employees,][ Pfizer's Vigo location was declared the sole producer of Exubera.]Editorial board
The editorial board is a group of editors, writers, and other people who are charged with implementing a publication's approach to editorials and other opinion pieces. The editorials published normally represent the views or goals of the publicat ...
.
Pfizer’s track record provides ray of hope on sad day
, (Editorial
An editorial, or leading article (UK) or leader (UK), is an article or any other written document, often unsigned, written by the senior editorial people or publisher of a newspaper or magazine, that expresses the publication's opinion about ...
), '' Tribune-Star'', October 18, 2007, accessed January 11, 2009. In January 2008 those employees on paid leave were permanently eliminated.[ The company announced in May 2008 the remaining 140 jobs, occupied making antibiotics Cefobid and Unasyn,][ at the plant would be eliminated and the plant closed.][ In November 2008 the company announced the site and its buildings were for sale.][Staff.]
Pfizer puts closed Terre Haute plant up for sale
, Associated Press
The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City.
Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are dist ...
via ''Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...
'', November 10, 2008, accessed January 11, 2009.
Russian tour
Per a 1994 arms-control agreement between the United States and Russia each nation was permitted to inspect three sites in the other country that it suspected were biological warfare facilities.[Carroll, Michael. ''Lab 257: The Disturbing Story of the Government's Secret Plum Island Germ Laboratory'',]
Google Books
, HarperCollins, 2004, pp. 233-34, (). The Russians chose to tour Pfizer's main research center in Groton, Connecticut
Groton ( ) is a town in New London County, Connecticut, United States, located on the Thames River (Connecticut), Thames River. It is the home of General Dynamics Electric Boat, which is the major contractor for submarine work for the United St ...
,[ the Plum Island facilities, including Building 101, and the Vigo Ordnance Plant.][ The Russians were shown the decrepit military facilities at Vigo, many of which were shuttered, padlocked and in an obvious state of disrepair.][ When the Russians observed the fermenters, they asserted that it was evidence of a secret, illegal U.S. BW program.][ Russian reaction to the tours, in general, was not good, and a negative report of their visit followed when they returned to Russia.][ The report maintained that the facilities could potentially be used for BW.][
]
See also
*Fort Detrick
Fort Detrick () is a United States Army Futures Command installation located in Frederick, Maryland. Fort Detrick was the center of the U.S. biological weapons program from 1943 to 1969. Since the discontinuation of that program, it has hosted m ...
* Fort Terry
* Granite Peak Installation
* Horn Island Testing Station
* Plum Island Animal Disease Center
Notes
External links
Records of Chemical Plants
''National Archives
National archives are the archives of a country. The concept evolved in various nations at the dawn of modernity based on the impact of nationalism upon bureaucratic processes of paperwork retention.
Conceptual development
From the Middle Ages i ...
'', Records of the Chemical Warfare Service, Guide to Federal Records, accessed January 11, 2009.
{{coord, 39, 21, 32, N, 87, 24, 40, W, region:US-IN_type:landmark, display=title
Buildings and structures in Vigo County, Indiana
Biological warfare facilities
Pfizer
Former installations of the United States Army
Indiana in World War II
United States biological weapons program