Gruinard Island
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Gruinard Island is a small Scottish island, located in Gruinard Bay, about halfway between Gairloch and Ullapool.
In 1942, it was the site of a highly successful biological warfare test by British military scientists from Porton Down. At that time, there was an investigation by the British government into the feasibility of an attack using anthrax: either to test the vulnerability of Britain against a German attack, or to check on the feasibility of such an attack against Germany.
The anthrax strain chosen for the Gruinard bioweapons trials was a highly virulent type called "Vollum 14578" - named after R.L. Vollum, Professor of Bacteriology at Oxford University, who supplied it. Eighty sheep were taken to the island, and bombs filled with anthrax spores were exploded close to where selected groups were tethered. The sheep became infected with anthrax and began to die within days of exposure. Following the tests British scientists concluded that a large scale release of anthrax spores could render a German city uninhabitable for decades.
Subsequent decontamination attempts on the island were unsuccessful due to the durability of anthrax spores. As a result Gruinard Island was quarantined and remained a no-go area for many years afterwards. Visits to the island were strictly prohibited, except by Porton Down personnel for the purposes of checking the level of contamination.
Starting in 1986, a determined effort was made to decontaminate the island, with 280 tonnes of formaldehyde solution diluted in seawater being sprayed over all 520 acres (2 km²) of the island, and the worst-contaminated topsoil around the dispersal site being removed. A flock of sheep was then placed on the island, and remained healthy. On April 24, 1990, after 48 years of quarantine, the then junior defence minister, Michael Neubert, personally visited the island and announced its safety by removing the warning signs. As of January 2002, there have been no cases of anthrax in the island flock.
The island is mentioned by Frederick Forsyth in his novel "The Fist Of God" (1994).
