§6771. Prohibition

§6771. Prohibition

(a) In general

Neither the Secretary of Defense nor any other officer or employee of the United States may, directly or by contract—

(1) conduct any test or experiment involving the use of any chemical or biological agent on a civilian population; or

(2) use human subjects for the testing of chemical or biological agents.

(b) Construction

Nothing in subsection (a) may be construed to prohibit actions carried out for purposes not prohibited by this chapter (as defined in section 6701(8) of this title).

(c) "Biological agent" defined

In this section, the term "biological agent" means any micro-organism (including bacteria, viruses, fungi, rickettsiae or protozoa), pathogen, or infectious substance, or any naturally occurring, bio-engineered or synthesized component of any such micro-organism, pathogen, or infectious substance, whatever its origin or method of production, capable of causing—

(1) death, disease, or other biological malfunction in a human, an animal, a plant, or another living organism;

(2) deterioration of food, water, equipment, supplies, or materials of any kind; or

(3) deleterious alteration of the environment.

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (b), was in the original "this Act" and was translated as reading "this division", meaning div. I of Pub. L. 105–277, Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–856, known as the Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998, to reflect the probable intent of Congress. For complete classification of division I to the Code, see Short Title note set out under section 6701 of this title and Tables.