OKLAHOMA CITY -- The U.S. Army's multimission sensor test, initially scheduled to start in February, will begin March 24 in the Canadian River basin in Oklahoma, the U.S. Army announced Monday.

The test was delayed after citizens' complaints that the use of egg white powder may cause allergic reactions in some residents. As a result of the complaints, the Army eliminated the use of bacillus thuringiensis (BT) from the test, Brig. Gen. Stephen Reeves said.

"We want residents to be comfortable with the test, and we want to be good neighbors while performing it," Reeves said.

During the exercise, test pilots will use crop-dusting equipment to disseminate materials selected to simulate a chemical threat on some areas. Ethanol and a -to-1 solution of polyethylene glycol (PEG) 200 and water will be released and clay dust will be used to simulate a biological threat.

Chemical and biological simulants are routinely used in detection and protection capability studies conducted by the Department of Defense. These simulants have been selected for their ability to represent a spectrum of possible chemical and biological threats while protecting human health and the environment.

The testing will help determine whether various radar systems located in the vicinity of the Canadian River basin can provide early warning capability against chemical or biological events, the Army said.

The National Weather Service and Federal Aviation Administration radars will be evaulated, as well as commercial C-Band radars. The commercial radars being evaluated are Advanced Design Corp. (ADC), Baron Services and Enterprise Electronics Corp. (EEC).

These tests will help determine the capability of the Weather Service Radar (WSR)-88D system to detect distances to release points, track dissemination patterns, and collect and analyze data.

Information about the test, including schedules and maps, are available on the Internet, he said.

A map of the specific test sites can be found here.