DSTL Porton Down

 microbiology, scientific research institute / centre, chemical warfare

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Defence Science and Technology Laboratory: Porton Down

Porton Down is a United Kingdom government and military science park. It is situated slightly northeast of Porton near Salisbury in Wiltshire, England. To the northwest lies the MoD Boscombe Down test range facility which is operated by QinetiQ. On maps, Porton Down has a "Danger Area" surrounding the entire complex.

It is home to the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, known as DSTL. DSTL is an Executive Agency of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), and the site is believed to be one of the United Kingdom's most sensitive and secretive government facilities for military research, including CBRN defence. The DSTL site occupies 7,000 acres (28 km²).

Note the double fence surrounding the inner site, where the real work is done.

www.dstl.gov.uk/index.php

Film about laboratory

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UAKgPdkkiCg

A century at Porton Dawn:
1916: A facility at the 3000-acre site is established
1920: Research starts on whole-body protection against mustard gas
1930: Porton Down scientists conduct tests on the London Underground to assess vulnerabilities to chemical or biological attack
1940: Site expands and biological warfare research starts
1946: scientists conduct research into war gases and nerve agents with the help of volunteer military personnel
1989: Nerve agent trials cease
1997: Chemical Weapons Convention comes into force, requiring all members to dispose of chemical weapons and their production facilities
1999: Wiltshire Police begin a four-year investigation into the human experiments at Porton Down nearly 50 years earlier
2008: MoD awards £3m compensation to 360 veterans of the tests without admission of liability
2013: Dstl scientists test samples from Syria for Sarin
www.bbc.com/news/magazine-36606510