Called "Operation Sea Spray," cities are used as laboratories to test aerosolization and dispersal methods when bioweapon simulants are released during covert experiments in New York City, San Francisco, and other sites.
Bacteria are released over large geographic areas to study the effects of solar irradiation and climatic conditions on the viability of those organisms.
Concerns regarding potential public health hazards are raised after outbreaks of urinary tract infections caused by Serratia marcescens occur at Stanford University Hospital between September 1950 and February 1951.