Senate panel to investigate nerve gas tests on Navy ships

WASHINGTON - A Senate panel will investigate whether the Pentagon intended to use American sailors as human guinea pigs during the 1960s testing of chemical weapons aboard Navy ships. <br> <br> Georgia Senator Max Cleland said Monday that he will convene hearings this fall in his personnel panel of the Armed Services Committee. <br> <br> The hearings will focus on the once-secretive testing program that Pentagon officials acknowledged for the first time last month. <br> <br> According to military documents, two kinds of nerve gas and a biological agent were sprayed on Navy ships in the Pacific from 1963 to 1970 during a series of tests. <br> <br> Military officials have told lawmakers that monkeys aboard the ships were the subjects of the most dangerous experiments aimed at learning the effectiveness of protective gear and how quickly a deadly chemical agent could be detected. <br> <br> The Pentagon insists the intent wasn&#39;t to expose humans -- at least to the most dangerous agents -- and, according to somewhat sketchy records of the tests, none were harmed.