CHEM-WEAPONS DISPOSAL CHRONOLOGY
(Prepared by the Kentucky Environmental Foundation)

1968
- Army tests the effects of VX by spraying 20 pounds from an E-4 phantom jet at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. 6,000 sheep killed in Skull Valley, Utah within a 25-mile radius of the depot.

1969
- C.H.A.S.E. (Cut Holes and Sink 'Em) program of chemical weapons (CW) disposal curtailed due to environmental concerns and opposition to transportation through states.

1972
- Dugway, Utah experiment conducted by Army shows synergistic effects of exposure to a combination of low levels of nerve agent and pesticides. This study goes unreported until 1997.

1975-1983
- Disposal of some CW by neutralization and incineration, mostly at Rocky Mt. Arsenal in Colorado.

1970s
- James L. Burchfiel and Frank Duffy, Harvard Medical School, conduct research showing that low-level exposure to nerve agent results in long-term, perhaps permanent, changes in brain waves which could cause chronic fatigue, memory loss, sleep disturbances and a decrease in sexual drive.

1979
- "Smoke pot incident" in Kentucky. Smoke pots being burned at the depot create toxic cloud which drifts over I-75; more than 40 people taken to hospital with respiratory symptoms. For two weeks, Army denies responsibility.

1982
- Army chooses incineration as preferred baseline technology, without public input and very little publicly known about their decision-making process.

1984
- Congress enacts Public Law 99-145. Directs Army to destroy the obsolete M55 nerve gas rockets (only).

- National Research Council (NRC) endorses incineration as baseline technology with Army's input exclusively. As a result, private industry creates Army "sales staff" for incineration. - Army visits eight stockpile sites to announce the plan to incinerate CW. Opposition begins in Kentucky, with initial focus being to move the nerve gas out of state.

1985
- Study of the condition of the stockpile released. Shows 25-30 year safe shelf life as stored.

- Arthur D. Little, Inc. releases "M55 Rocket Separation Study" (M55-OD-8) which demonstrates the engineering capability of separating the agent from the rockets and explosives and safely recontaining it in one-ton containers.

1985-1988
- Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process worked through. Opposition to incineration grows across the U.S. and questions begin to be raised about the programmatic method.

1986
- Grassroots anti-incineration group, Common Ground, is formed in Kentucky.

1988
- Programmatic Record of Decision issued--Army decides that "on site incineration" at all nine sites is preferred method. Community studies dis- regarded, public input limited to comments on completed documents.

1989
- Site-specific EIS process redefined and compromise reached that (in the opponents' view and legal team view) violates the NEPA process.

1990
- Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF) founded by Common Ground to serve as a nonprofit with full-time staff to work on the CW disposal issue.

- Department of Defense Conference on environment and defense in Maryland brings together citizens from the Kentucky, Utah, Oregon, Colorado, and Alabama CW stockpile sites along with the Sierra Club, the National Toxics Campaign Fund and Greenpeace. Citizens decide to work together to stop incineration under the name Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG).

- In Pacific, testing of the first full-scale CW incinerator, Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS), begins.

- Mitre report on future use of incinerator facilities released. Finds multiple and diverse uses for these facilities after CW disposal completed.

- Nerve gas release through JACADS smokestack forces hasty shutdown.

1991
- January & February. In Persian Gulf War, various units of coalition forces at various times and places report chemical alarms sounding.

- KEF organizes first CWWG Conference in KY to formulate united position against incineration as an acceptable method of disposal. At this first show of unity at all sites, participants develop Citizen's Accords.

- April & May. Pentagon officials insist there was no use, no presence, no exposure to CW during the Persian Gulf War.

- Congress requests yearly update on future use from Army. Requests that the Army inform Congress when it would need funding to modify facilities and change the law to allow follow-on uses. This confirms community concerns about future use of these incinerators.

- November. An intelligence report circulates to the Pentagon, the White House and CIA revealing there may have been CW destroyed by American troops at an Iraqi bunker in March 1991. The report doesn't surface again until 1996.

1992
- January. M55 rocket detonates in JACADS incinerator furnace, punching a hole in the furnace.

- Office of Technological Assessment (OTA) report issued. Stresses need for alternative technologies.

- Congressional hearings reveal the Army has violated NEPA and RCRA regulations at the JACADS facility and in Alabama by beginning construction without proper permitting.

- KY state law passed imposing stricter incineration permitting requirements.

- Chemical Weapons Convention Treaty "agreement in principle" signed in Geneva. Creates wider list of chemical weapons and materiel to be disposed of than current Army list. Estimates that more than 200 sites in 37 U.S. states will be affected.

- House/Senate conferees defer '93 spending at most sites and push for the development of alternative technologies for disposal.

- KEF is voted by CWWG consensus to serve as the lead organization and spokesgroup for the CWWG.

1993
- JACADS incinerator shut down because of a fire.

- Russian scientific and ecological groups endorse the Citizens' Accords on Chemical Weapons Disposal, including anti-incineration position.

- CWWG gathering in Anapolis, MD, spring of '93, to continue voicing opposition to incineration and demanding a wider role for citizens in affected communities.

- Congress passes Defense Appropriations Bill which calls for Citizen Advisory Commissions (CACs) to be set up in each state which has a CW stockpile site, to serve as a conduit for the concerns of local citizens. Congress delays funding for the Army's baseline program and asks the NRC to develop a report on alternatives to incineration.

- KY CAC begins to develop its own criteria for safe weapons disposal.

- June. The NRC Alternative Technologies Committee states that disassembly and neutralization of the CW would meet demilitarization requirements of the international treaty and that this would also eliminate the risk of catstrophic agent releases during continued storage They also suggest that "The Army should consider reconfiguring each high risk stockpile to a safer condition prior to disposal if this would significantly decrease cumulative total risk."

- Congress passes 1994 Defense Authorization Bill which delays funding at seven of eight sites. The Browder Amendment states that two conditions must be met before construction can begin in Alabama: one other site must be scheduled for construction within a 12-month period and JACADS must operate with safety and environmental compliance for six months. The Baesler Amendment gives CACs a 60-day comment period from the date of the NRC release to make their own recommendations to Congress.

- September. Senate Banking Committee investigators, working for Sen. Riegle (D-MI), conclude that Gulf War veterans' symptoms are consistent with low-level exposure to chemical weapons.

- December. Sen. Shelby (R-AL) collects evidence from French troops that they detected low levels of mustard and nerve gas south of King Khalid Military City in January 1991. The event lasted more than three hours.

- December. Shelby reveals that Czech troops detected nerve gas on five occasions in Saudi Arabia in January 1991.

1994
- NRC releases report on alternatives that recommends the Army proceed with the baseline disposal method at munitions sites, expand efforts for alternatives at bulk sites and continue to investigate alternatives for all sites.

- March. Live agent released out of JACADS smokestack at 18 times the acceptable Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) limits; island-wide alert.

- CACs respond to NRC report with responses ranging from disappointment to outrage. Citizens note that the NRC's Stockpile Committee ignored the Alternative Technology Committee's disassembly/neutralization approach and that the study of alternatives is inadequate. The CACs also point out that the safety of their communities and public health are not addressed in the NRC risk analysis. CACs agree with the NRC finding which states the Army has not been receptive to public input.

- March. Third annual CWWG Conference. Citizens develop "The Citizens Solution" by consensus. This paper, for the first time, outlines a step by step CW disposal program which is acceptable to citizens at all eight stockpile sites. Over 25,000 letters of support for this approach sent to Congress.

- August. Steve Jones, Chief of Safety at Utah's Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility (TOCDF) is fired for refusing to ignore over 3000 safety violations at the plant. Jones says plant is unsafe and should be shut down immediately. Army continues to claim the incinerator is the "best in the world."

- September. First "International Day for Safe Disposal of Chemical Weapons" is held September 25 to show support for safe disposal. Marches, rallies, press conferences, radio shows and door-to-door literature distribution occur simultaneously in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Indiana, Hawai'i, Kentucky, Maryland, Oregon, Utah, Moscow, Gorny, Shikhany, Cheboksary and Volgograd.

1995
- JACADS prototype incinerator fined $123,000 by EPA for release of live nerve agent and improper storage of hazardous waste.

- Army requests another ten-year permit and an additional $640 million to destroy weapons at JACADS. The original completion date for JACADS was 1995 at a cost of $223 milion. This request moves the date to 2004 and makes the cost $1.3 billion. (The revised Army disposal schedule changes the completion date for the national program from 1994 to 2004 and changes the cost of the entire program from $1.7 billion to $12.3 billion.) The General Accounting Office (GAO) states these estimates are likely to be unrealistic.

- March. Fourth annual CWWG Conference, Bethesda Maryland. CWWG calls attention to 600% cost overruns, delays, technical failures and the existence of safer, more cost-effective approaches. "Chemical Weapons Disposal: The Citizens' Solution to the Costly Mistake of Incineration" published by KEF.

- 140 local, regional and national organizations sign the CWWG's Accords, calling for a halt to the Army's incineration program and for the development of safer disposal technologies and approaches.

- May. In just nine months of Army research at Aberdeen, Maryland, bench scale testing demonstrates that mustard gas can be neutralized with hot water and sewer sludge. VX tests show it can be neutralized and the by- products treated without incineration.

- October. CWWG members from all nine stockpile sites attend "Citizens' Summit" in Russia. Russian, American and Pacific delegates share concerns about safe disposal of chemical weapons stored in their communities.

- M55 rocket explodes at JACADS while being processed.

- At JACADS 700-pound bomb releases its contents (GB) on floor after being loaded improperly onto conveyer despite supervisor being present to ensure correct loading and control room cameras monitoring procedure.

- Congress appropriates money for procurement of incinerator parts in Oregon, Alabama and Arkansas. Directs Army to report on viability of alternative approaches, including rocket separation, for all sites.

- November. Army identifies three potential non-incineration technologies which warrant further review by NRC for possible use at bulk-only sites in Maryland and Indiana.

1996
- January. In Utah, Tooele County Commissioners ask that incineration permits be denied because the county is unprepared for the risk of incinerator- related accidents.

- February. Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR) calls for moratorium on consideration of incineration proposal at Umatilla, until environmental and safety questions are fully addressed and a comparative analysis of relative risks, benefits and costs of all available disposal technologies is complete.

- February. Westinghouse wins Army's $575 milion contract to build and operate Anniston, Alabama incinerator.

- March. Fifth annual CWWG Conference, Washington, DC. Focus on alternative technologies.

- May. Tooele County Commissioners withdraw their opposition to Utah incineration permit after the Army transfers to the county buildings and property valued at more than $114 million and $13 million cash.

- June. Pentagon reveals that there were probably CW in a bunker destroyed by US troops at Khamisiyah, Iraq in March 1991.

- July. CWWG, Sierra Club and Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation take Army and EG&G to Federal court in Utah for preliminary injunction to stop start-up of agent burns at TOCDF. Judge rules against injunction. Army says plant is safe and ready to go.

- CWWG, et al. appear before Utah Division of Solid and Hazardous Waste (DSHW) seeking revocation of incinerator permit. Plea is denied.

- August 22. TOCDF begins agent operations and is shut down within 72 hours because of agent leaking from filter banks. Probable agent release into the environment. Takes 24 hours for control room to be notified and corrective action to be taken. Army says amounts released were too low to cause harm to workers or the public.

- September 5. Presidential advisory commission concludes that as many as 1,100 American troops were exposed to sarin when the Khamisiyah bunker was blown up.

- September 9. TOCDF is shut down due to complete power failure in the plant. Possible agent release into the environment.

- September 18. Department of Defense announces expanded notification program for 5,000 service members who were in the dispersion area when US troops blew up CW bunker and open-pit area at Khamisiyah.

- September 18. TOCDF is shut down when potentially agent- contaminated solution leaks into electrical room.

- September 19. TOCDF is shut down due to Liquid Incinerator Slag Removal System malfunction during a shakedown trial burn.

- September 27. CIA computer modeling indicates that as many as 130,000 coalition troops may have been exposed to low levels of nerve agent from the Khamisiyah demolition.

- Comment period on non-stockpile EIS; meetings held in Alaska, Texas, Utah, Florida and Alabama. CWWG submits comment on EIS. There are 65 non-stockpile sites in 31 states. Incineration considered an option in the non- stockpile EIS.

- 1997 Defense Appropriations Bill includes no funding for incinerators in Colorado and Kentucky. $40 million is designated for alternative technologies identification and demonstration.

- Neutralization technology chosen for Indiana and Maryland bulk sites. CWWG and the Indiana and Maryland CACs endorse this alternative approach.

- Oregon Environmental Quality Commission (EQC) issues Army permit for incineration of Umatilla stockpile.

- Stack testing at TOCDF shows GB nerve agent on particulate matter in stack gasses.

- December. In Anniston, Alabama, the first of three public forums on incineration of CW is held. Forums are being arranged by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) before deciding whether or not to approve incinerator permits.

- Two more whistleblowers at TOCDF. General Manager, Gary Millar, is fired by EG&G and states he was fired for trying to address safety concerns. He likened conditions at the Tooele plant to those likely to end in a Chernobyl, Three Mile Island or Bhopal kind of catastrophe. Incinerator worker, John Hall, claims he was fired for reporting safety problems to his superiors.

- December 19. TOCDF is shut down due to M55 rockets jamming in feed gates in deactivation furnace system (DFS). Sticking gates between rocket shear machine and the DFS is "potential for a major incident," Millar writes in his journal.

1997
- January. The Journal of the American Medical Associationpublishes report on Gulf War illness, linking exposure to low levels of nerve agent and other environmental toxins to the illnesses more than 80,000 veterans are reporting.

- Pentagon continues to insist that exposure to low levels of nerve agent should not cause long-term health problems.

- January 26. TOCDF is shut down due to agent migration into observation corridors of Munitions Disposal Building. Possible agent release to the environment.

- February. GAO report says Army won't meet 2004 CW disposal deadline and program is $11 billion over budget.

- In Anniston, the second and third ADEM public forums are held. Gulf War vets join members of Families Concerned about Nerve Gas Incineration and Burn Busters to speak out against incineration.

- CWWG sponsors Gulf War Symposium in Salt Lake City with speakers from National Gulf War Research Foundation and the National Gulf War Resource Center, calling for safe disposal of CW in the US.

- March. In Utah, CWWG, et al. take Army to Federal court in second preliminary injunction hearing. Despite new evidence, the judge rules to allow the facility to continue to burn.

- Families Against Incinerator Risks (FAIR) organizes children's balloon rally at gates of Tooele Army Depot.

- CWWG, et al. appear again before Utah DSHW to ask for permit revocation. DSHW denies request.

- CIA admits that, using a more exact wind dispersion model, clouds of nerve gas from the March 1991 demolition of the Khamisiyah bunker may have wafted as far as 165 miles south. Previously, the Army had said that the clouds could not have traveled more than 30 miles.

- CIA admits that it had intelligence as early as 1986 that showed CW were stored at the Khamisiyah bunker, although this information was never passed on to US troops.

- CWWG supports Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) in alliance with disarmament and veterans groups after negotiations assuring adequate time for alternative technologies implementation are given by the White House and incorporated in the Treaty Resolutions on Ratification in the Senate.

- Raytheon Corp., builder and operator of JACADS, wins CW incinerator contract in Umatilla, Oregon.

- April. Sixth annual CWWG Conference, Washington, DC. Conferees focus on alternative technologies, low-level exposures and Gulf War lessons.

- April 4 to April 12. TOCDF shut down for better part of eight days with no notification to any agencies or the public.

- April. US ratifies CWC.

- April 23. A Notice to Discontinue for Insufficient Quality is issued to EG&G by the Army. TOCDF is shut down again.

- May 28 & 30. Citizens from Kentucky and Oregon possibly exposed to chemical agent during tour of TOCDF. During civilian tours of TOCDF, 38 citizens were brought into a section of the plant that was discovered to have chemical agent-contaminated munitions parts openly stored there.

- May 29-31. First Dialogue for Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment(DACWA) meeting held in Colorado is positive and productive. The diverse group, studying alternative technologies, includes state regulators, representatives from the Army and citizens as mandated by the 1997 Defense Appropriations Bill.

- June. Arsenic found in incineration waste at TOCDF indicates that Army is illegally burning chemical agent Lewisite in violation of environmental permit. Army denies allegations.

- June. GAO report finds "substantial evidence" linking Gulf War illnesses to nerve gas and other CW.

- June. Sen. Murkowski (R-AK) attaches amendment to 1998 Defense Authorization Bill allowing study of transportation of stockpiled CW to sites with operating incinerators (Utah, JACADS) or those under construction (Oregon, Alabama) "in order to facilitate the disposal of such weapons and agents without the construction of additional chemical weapons disposal facilities in the continental US." Amendment passes Senate unanimously.

- June 19. ADEM permits Anniston CW incinerator.

- June 25. New TOCDF whistleblower holds press conference. Former Chief of Hazardous Waste Operations and Environmental Compliance Inspector, Trina Allen, reveals she was retaliated against for trying to bring the incinerator facility into compliance with environmental regs.

- July 3. Alabama citizens group appeals issuance of permit to allow construction of CW incinerator in Anniston.

- July 26. Raytheon Corp. wins CW incinerator contract in Pine Bluff, Arkansas.

- July 28. Requests for Proposals (RFPs) for alternative technologies to incineration under '97 Defense Bill released to private sector technologies providers.

- July. First meeting between citizens living near non-stockpile sites and Non-stockpile Chemical Materiel Program (NSCMP) representatives is held in Pueblo, Colorado.

- August 1. EG&G challenges Arkansas contract. Will slow contract award by at least six months.

- August 5. Whistleblower Steve Jones, fired as Safety Manager at TOCDF in 1994 for refusing to ignore safety violations, is vindicated in Department of Labor judgment. Judge orders EG&G to rehire Jones and pay him his full back salary; finds Jones was fired illegally.

- August 7. Oregon citizens groups file action in Oregon Circuit Court to overturn the Department of Environmental Quality's denial of their effort to revoke the permit for incineration construction.

- September 15. ACWA RFP closes. Grapevine has it that the number of proposals submitted is "more than even the most optimistic alt-tech advocates expected." DoD to announce those who pass the threshold criteria on Oct. 6.

- September 18. Congress passes 1998 Military Construction Bill slashing $44 million from Chem-demil from the Arkansas facility, citing permit delays.

- September 29. Congress passes 1998 Defense Appropriations Bill cutting $20 million from the budget request ($10 million in ops and maintenance and $10 million in procurement). The bill also prohibits studies of transportation to JACADS or future use studies except for CAMDS. Allows studies of transport inside the US.

- October. Committee on Government Reform and Oversight releases Congressional Report on Gulf War Illnesses which concludes there is evidence linking Gulf War Illnesses with exposure to low levels of CW agents.

- October 5. CWWG is inducted into the "Grassroots Hall of Fame" of the CCHW Center for Health, Environment and Justice for CWWG's environmental justice work in the CW disposal issue.

- October 7. DoD's Assembled Chemical Weapons Assessment (ACWA) announces that seven non-incineration technologies have passed its initial threshold criteria.

- October 19. Kentucky's Common Ground organization holds a celebration of the movement toward safer CW disposal technologies which includes a volleyball game between Army employees and activists. The activists win two out of three games.

- October 31. CWWG submits Comments on JACADS Permit Renewal calling for a denial of permit or at least limiting it to five years, not the 10 years the Army is requesting.

- November 9. More than two dozen organizatons representing Gulf War veterans endorse a Resolution opposing the Army's CW incineration program and advocating for CWWG's position on safe CW disposal.

- November 17. CWWG submits Comments on Oregon Permit Modification calling for a denial of modification to add Raytheon onto the permit as operator.

- November 27. JACADS employee is killed when a section of a feed chute falls on him while repairing a "tipping valve." There is some question as to whether or not there is a standard operating procedure for repair of this piece of modified equipment.

- November. Second meeting with citizens and NSCMP representatives is held in Salt Lake City, Utah. Citizens view portable technologies being developed by Teledyne Brown to dispose of some types of non-stockpile materiel.

- December 15. CWWG, et al. file an Environmental Justice (EJ) Complaint in Alabama. More than 100 organizations and individuals from 40 states sign on to letter of support for EJ Complaint.

- December. NSCMP releases statement of Scope for its PEIS.

1998
- January 20. Court hearing begins on challenges to permits issued by ADEM for construction and operation of CW incinerator in Anniston, Alabama. Westinghouse Plant Manager admits under oath that he certified Army's permit application without full knowledge of its contents.

- January 21. CWWG joins Friends of the Earth, Taxpayers for Common Sense and other groups in releasing "Green Scissors" report exposing US programs that waste taxpayers' money and harm the environment.

- January 27. Public meeting on alternative technologies draws more than 100 citizens from Pine Bluff, Arkansas area.

- January 28. In whistleblower Trina Allen's suit against EG&G, Federal Judge orders contractor to reinstate her, award her back pay and cease retaliation against her and other employees.

- March 12. The Kentucky CAC and the National Research Council's (NRC) Committee on Alternative Technologies Assessment meet with more than 130 local residents in Richmond to get input from the citizens on alternatives.

- March 18. KEF publishes a collection of six papers on "Public Health and Chemical Weapons Incineration."

- March. CWWG submits independent review of the Rapid Response System and Munitions Management Device--technologies developed for disposal of some non-stockpile materiel. Also submits critique of the NSCMP Statement of Scope for the PEIS.

- March. CBS' 60 Minutes reports that $600 million intended to protect Oregon communities in case of a serious accident in the disposal of CW at Umatilla have been misused.

- April 3-6. Seventh Annual CWWG Conference in Washington, DC.

- April 31. Pentagon selects six technologies to move forward to next phase of ACWA alternative technology selection process.

- May. Gaping holes form in the concrete wall of the main furnace being constructed in Anniston due to concrete hardening before it had completely filled the 1440 square foot support. Construction is temporarily stopped.

- May. Citizens living near non-stockpile CW sites meet for third time with Army officials from the NSCMP to continue discussion on recovery, storage and disposal of non-stockpile CW.

- June 7. The Arkansas Chapter of Women's Actions for New Directions (WAND) sponsors a Family Walk to the Pine Bluff Arsenal to help raise awareness of and provide information to local citizens about CW incineration.

- June. ADEM officials issue fish consumption advisories for over 15 area rivers and lakes in Alabama due to levels of PCBs, heavy metals and other toxics in fish tissues that exceed federal health standards. ADEM says "don't eat the fish" but grants permit of CW incinerator in Anniston which will further pollute local rivers and lakes.

- July 2. U.S. Senate authorizes additional $18 million to continue ACWA's implementation of alternatives to incineration.

- July 13. Arkansas citizens' groups submit petition to extend comment period on CW incinerator permit; state that giving citizens three months to comment is inadequate considering that PC & E took 11 years to review the permit.

- July 30. The Arkansas Chapter of WAND calls on Army to fund study on impacts of CW incineration on children's health; calls proposed incinerator a "threat to our security and future."

- July 30. ACWA announces three alternative technologies will move forward to demonstration phase. Pentagon claims there are insufficient funds to demonstrate other three technologies that also passed all the technical criteria. CWWG calls Pentagon's claims "suspect."

- August. CWWG establishes Whistleblower 800 Number for workers at CW incinerator facilities who have suffered any type of retaliation or discrimination due to activities which are protected under U.S. whistleblower laws.

- August 21. Oregon groups and citizens file motion for summary judgment in Oregon Circuit Court challenging CW incinerator permit; claim DEQ and EQC failed to fully consider impact of emissions and whether incineration is best possible technology.

- September 3. Coosa River Basin Initiative (CRBI), a Georgia-based watershed advocacy group, files suit to have Alabama CW incinerator permit declared invalid.

- September 15. CWWG reveals that a newly discovered December 1997 NRC report finds the Pentagon's "safe" low-level exposure standards for workers and the public to be based on data that is indadequate and invalid.

- September 23. GAO releases report stating that the DoD lacks strategy and research program to address low-level CW exposure.

- September 23. In Alabama, citizens' groups send notice of intent to file suit to Army, CBS and ÅDEM over use of inaccurate toxicity data,

- September 24. At 3rd Annual Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Conference, Gulf War veterans revew their call for a halt to CW incineration; cite new NRC report which finds Pentagon's "safe" exposure standards for nerve agents to be based on data that is inadequate and invalid.

- September 28. CWWG obtains secret April 1998 independent audit of Army's CSDP which shows incineration program will not achieve CWC treaty deadline.

- October 2. Whistleblower Steve Jones is vindicated yet again when U.S. Department of Labor Review Board upholds lower court's decision that Jones had been illegally fired by EG&G for raising issues of safety violations at TOCDF.

- October 6. Bechtel National, Inc. is awarded contract to design, build and operate neutralization facility for CW disposal in Maryland.

- October 12. Entire KY U.S. Congressional delegation unites in support of demonstrating all six alternative technologies that passed ACWA technical criteria.

- October 16. CWWG releases information proving that TOCDF produces 15 pounds of hazardous waste for every pound of chemical agent burned and due to the failure of two of TOCDF's main components, these by- products are not disposed of on-site but are shipped to communities across the nation.

- October 26. 24 U.S. Representatives send letter to Defense Secretary William Cohen urging him to dedicate necessary funds to demonstrate all six alternative technologies that passed the ACWA technical criteria.

- November 13. CWWG reports that Russians fear they will not have enough money to dispose of their CW in a safe manner and that they therefore will have to fall back on incineration which a Russian expert calls "outdated and appalling to the environment."

- November 17. Whistleblower Jones files federal lawsuit seeking reinstatement to his job as safety manager at TOCDF. Despite two rulings from the Department of Justice that contractor EG&G fired Jones illegally and must reinstate him, the firm has refused to do so.

- December 4. It is reported that 24 vapor leaks have been detected in the past two months at TOCDF, all involving 105mm projectiles. Each of these 16-inch long bullet-shaped objects contains .17 gallons of GB. 16 of the leaks were detected after the projectiles were transferred from the storage igloos to the incinerator building. Eight of the leaks occurred when crews were removing a heavy bolt screwed into the nose of the projectile.

- December 7. Expert panel selected by ICF Kaiser issues results of study of Army's Chemical Disposal Program (CDP). The report, entitled "Overarching Issues Assessment," criticizes the organization, management and public and legislative relations of the CDP; says it is seen as a "disaster without a solution."

- December 8. Ruling by Oregon Circuit Court Judge Michael H. Marcus is called a victory by incineration foes. Marcus sends critical issues back to DEQ/EQC, questioning their permit decision; orders hearing on "new" nerve gas toxicity data.

- December 13. TOCDF Liquid Incinerator is shut down after 140 gallons of GB (sarin) is spilled while being fed into the incinerator, raising serious questions about the engineering and design of the technology.

- December 24. Pentagon Inspector General's report slams Army for Y2K non-compliance of Safety Systems of Incineration Program; cites inaccurate reports and lack of oversight.

- December 28. Oregon citizens file motion challenging viability of Army's CW Incineration Plan.

1999
- January. Whistleblower Steve Jones wins latest appeal. Dept. of Labor Review Board again orders EG&G to reinstate Jones.

- January 15. Arkansas Dept. of Pollution Control and Ecology (ADPC&E) approves permit for CW incineration facility at Pine Bluff Arsenal (PBA).

- January 28. Green Scissors report released; uncovers over $50.7 billion in US tax dollars spent on programs that harm the environment; names Army's CW Incineration Program as one of those programs.

- February 2. Demonstrations for three of six alternative technologies that passed ACWA criteria begin.

- February 16. Citizens' groups file appeal to Arkansas CW Incinerator permit; claim permit doesn't adequately protect public health and environment, among other serious flaws.

- February 18. Non-incineration CW disposal contract awarded at Newport Army Depot in Indiana. The Newport contract calls for agent neutralization followed by secondary oxidation treatment. Hoosier community groups urge federal legislators to adopt similar benign technologies at all CW stockpile sites.

- February 22. Maryland issues permits for non-incineration CW disposal at Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG). Chemical neutralizaton and biological processes will be used to treat the 1600 tons of mustard agent stored at APG. Activists wonder why the Army won't also use these benign technologies in Arkansas where 80% of the stockpile is identical to Maryland's. Instead, incineration with its smokestack emissions is the Army's technology of choice for Arkansas.

- February 26. Arkansas' Pollution Control and Ecology Commission votes unanimously to lift stay on construction of incinerator facility although Anthony Flippo, former chief weapons inspector for the Army, recently revealed that there are non-stockpile weapons stored improperly at the Pine Bluff Arsenal that could produce a disastrous explosion. Flippo accuses Army of violating its own "Cardinal Principle" by not limiting potential exposure to a minimum number of people.

- April 13. Shutdown occurs when TOCDF back-up power system fails after Depot-wide outage. This failure compromised the negative air flow system, fans leading to the stacks and other critical systems. Possible agent release to the environment and worker exposure.

- April 27. ACWA Program announces it is a semi-finalist for Harvard University's "Innovations in American Government Program" award.

-April 30. Three ACWA alternative technologies' demonstrations completed.

- May 4. After almost five years of legal battles, Utah whistleblower Jones returns to his postion of Chief Safety Officer at TOCDF, by order of the 10 Circuit Court.. Jones was illegally fired in 1994 due to raising safety, health and environmental issues at the facility.

- May 5. Agent vapor leak forces workers out of certain areas within TOCDF.

- May. CWWG obtains proof from the DoD comptroller that PMCD was hiding FY '98 funds while claiming there was not enough money to fund demonstrations of all six alternative technologies that passed the ACWA criteria.

- May 21. Agent migrates from a Level A to a Level C area in TOCDF where agent is not supposed to be present. The ACAMS reading in the Level C area is 75 times the alarm point of .2twa. After alarm for agent presence, seven workers have to don the masks that are at their hips and evacuate. They are not in adequate protective clothing. Army officials testified in federal court that they don't know if any agent escaped to the outside environment during this incident.

- May 27-28. Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT), both on the Senate Defense Appropriations Committee, write letters to Senate leaders asking that funding be moved immediately to demonstrate the three remaining ACWA technologies.

- May 24. TOCDF workers removing nose closures from 105mm projectiles encounter liquid agent in a burster well where liquid agent isn't anticipated. Workers are not in adequate protective clothing. According to testimony of Project Manager Tim Thomas the ACAMS rang off at approximately 1900twa--50 times the maximum level of agent for the clothing the workers were wearing.

- May 26. Workers in TOCDF's Toxic Maintenance Area are removing plastic bags of waste when the ACAMS alarms at 1985twa causing them to evacuate. One of the bags containing liquid agent is ripped. Again workers are not in adequate protective clothing.

-June 4. County-wide power outage causes TOCDF negative air flow system (HVAC) to go down. It is 25 minutes before the emergency backup power system comes on. Backup power is supposed to come on automatically. Loss of the HVAC system causes agent to migrate into Level C areas where agent isn't supposed to be. There are three site masking alarms during the power outage event. Army officials testified in court that they don't know if agent migrated to the outside environment.

- June 5-14. TOCDF is in "Stand Down" by order of Chem Demil, according to testimony of Col. Joseph Huber in federal court. No munitions are processed during this period while a Review Team from Aberdeen is looking at recent agent events at TOCDF.

- June 8. Senator Mitch McConnell (R-KY) makes statement on Senate Floor decrying PMCD's hiding of FY'98 funds and pressing for demonstration of all six ACWA technologies.

- June 14. TOCDF starts up after "Stand Down." Processing of M-55 rockets is resumed. However TOCDF is shut down again because within six hours of start-up, allowable feed rate for rocket processing is violated.

- June 17. CWWG Director, Craig Williams, writes letter to Louis Caldera, Secretary of the Army, calling for the resignation of Dr. Ted Prociv, Deputy Secretary of the Army for Chemical Demilitarization, for his efforts to derail the ACWA program.

- June 18. CWWG calls for Ted Prociv's resignation for lying about the availability of money to fund all six ACWA technology demonstrations.

- June 29. Local citizens file Environmental Justice Complaint against the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality for issuing a permit for the Army's CW incinerator in Pine Bluff. The Complaint, filed with the EPA, states that Pine Bluff residents are already overburned with toxic pollutants and permitting a CW incinerator adds to the existing problems.

- July 20. After learning of hidden funds, Senators Mitch McConnell and Ted Stevens call for GAO investigation into safety, management, oversight and fiscal accountability of Army's chem demil program.

- July 27. The Pentagon, after CWWG sources document Army officials are hiding money, directs Army to test remaining three ACWA-identified non-incineration technologies.

- September. Dr. Ted Prociv, Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Army--responsible for hiding funds, a die-hard incineration proponent and a major stumbling block in the implementation of advanced technologies--announces he will resign his post November 1 to work in the private sector.

- September 15. Workers at the Umatilla Oregon incinerator construction site complain of breathing problems due to exposure to fumes of an unknown chemical. Army notifies emergency agencies after 90 minutes. One worker is taken by ambulance to the hospital, 35 are taken by personal vehicles to the emergency room and three are hospitalized. 800 workers are sent home.

- September 16. Umatilla workers are again sent home after air monitors are unable to locate source of toxic fumes. Ten workers seek medical attention. Two nurses report nausea after being exposed to clothing of hospitalized men.

- September 21. At annual Conference, Gulf War Vets pass resolution renewing opposition to chemical weapons incineration and advocating advanced non-incineration alternatives.

- September 27. Three more Umatilla construction site workers visit hospital with metallic tastes, chills and burning eyes.

- October 5. Umatilla Chemical Depot Commander calls the Army's response to workers' Sept. 15 exposure "lethargic." Toxic chemical is still not identified.

- October 7. Colorado CAC votes down chemical weapons incineration in favor of advanced non-smokestack solutions.

- October 21. The Army's Soldier, Biological and Chemical Command reports that chemical weapons stockpile is stable: the number of leakers is not increasing. Report undermines key argument for incineration.

- November 19. Oregon citizens present oral comments to Oregon Evironmental Quality Commission in effort to have permit revoked. They also raise questions about Sept. 15 worker exposure incident.

2000
- January. Canaries on the Rim: Living Downwind in the West, a book by CWWG activist Chip Ward from Grantsville, Utah, is released. Chip's book details the grassroots struggles in Utah's West Desert against the Utah CW incinerator and other environmental atrocities.

- January 11, 12, 13. On National Tour, former TOCDF Permit Chief, Gary Harris, reveals Army engaged in fraud, hid environmental violations to gain permit for Utah incinerator.

- January 10-22. Allegations by whistleblower Gary Harris generate stories in national media--CNN, MSNBC, AP wire, New York Times, Reuters, Washington Post-- and local media nationwide.

- February 4. In letter to Deputy DoD Inspector General (IG) Donald Mancuso, CWWG calls for IG investigation of Harris allegations; doesn't want PMCD to investigate itself.

- March 22. Documents sent by EG&G Safety Manager Steve Jones to CWWG over a five-month period are made public. Memos and internal documents reveal continuing worker exposures, agent releases and the use of risky, untested procedures at the Utah incinerator.

- April. Jones denies he sent and/or authored documents and memos sent to CWWG. However, handwriting analysis, fed ex receipts and telephone bills confirm Jones is the responsible party. CWWG demands inquiry into accidents and risks documented in Jones' papers.

- May 8. After workers at Utah incinerator finish maintenance on deactivation furnace feed chute there is confirmed release of nerve agent GB out of common stack into environment at 11:26 pm. Army reports that afterburner was blown out due to malfunction of air flow meter which was clogged with liquid. Stack alarm rings off for about 20 minutes at somewhere between 3.7 and 8.6 times the allowable stack concentration of GB. Army reports on the alarm reading are inconsistent. Mysteriously, after stack alarm rings off, alarm in furnace duct leading to stack rings off for agent presence. Facility managers say they have no clue as to why sequence of alarms was apparently backwards.

- May 9. At the Utah incinerator, a second confirmed release of GB to the environment takes place at about 1:15 am (less than an hour and a half after the confirmed release May 8) when workers attempt to relight deactivation furnace afterburner. Local emergency officials not notified until four hours after first GB release. Decision made by Army manager not to immediately notify local officials is in violation of Army SOPs, facility's operating permit granted by State of Utah and agreements with local emergency responders. Facility is shut down until investigation team, headed by the Army, makes final report on the incidents. EG&G manager predicts investigation will lead to physical modification, not just new SOPs. Shut down could last several weeks.

- May 22. CWWG and numerous other groups and individuals submit comments to the EPA opposing the burning of PCBs in chem weapons incinerators. Coalition says plan violates "National Environmental Policy Act, the Toxic Substances Control Act, the civil rights of the impacted populations, the principles of Environmental Justice and the rights of children.

- May 25. Calhoun County, Alabama Commissioners write letter to Alabama's Sen. Jeff Sessions and Rep. Bob Riley calling for an "independent investigation of the Tooele release incident, as well as the failure of the Army's incinerator technology and the breakdown of local notification procedures." In their letter, the Commissioners cast doubt on the Army's ability to credibly investigate the May 8-9 incident itself, point out that the Army's theory of "Lessons Learned" hasn't worked, raise serous questions about the Army's entire Risk Assessment, and emphasize the Army's gross negligence with regard to emergency preparedness.

- June 9. EG&G investigative report on May 8-9 nerve agent releases from Utah incinerator shows: Army has covered-up major technical, operational flaws; events at the facility are increasing rapidly, agent alarms are regularly ignored; and corrective actions and lessons learned are not being carried out.

- June 14. Citizens groups file notice of appeal of April 14 decision by US District Court Judge Tena Campbell allowing Utah incinerator to continue operations.

- June 14. The Non-Stockpile Chemical Weapons Citizens Coalition (Non-stockpile Coalition) writes letter to Army officials revealing the unsafe, inefficient handling and incineration of hazardous secondary wastes from Army "non-stockpile chemical materiel" disposal processes. The letter cites Army contractor Safety Kleen's financial problems, a facility safety audit and disturbing waste manifests and urges the Army to abandon plans for incineration of these wastes in favor of safer disposal technologies.

- June 20. Citizens of Calhoun County, Alabama hold rally and press conference at State Capital calling on Alabama Department of Environmental Management to revoke chem weapons incinerator permit on the basis that the technology fails to protect the health and safety of workers and the public.

- June. Investigative reports from the US Centers for Disease Control and the Utah Dept. of Environmental Quality conclude that the root cause of the May 8-9 nerve agent releases from the incinerator was jamming of the feed chute to the deactivation furnace, a major problem identified years ago that the Army had chosen to ignore rather than fix.

- July 21. US Congressional members from Oregon, Utah and Alabama co-sign a letter (precipated by the May 8-9 incident in Utah) to the General Accounting Office calling for a review of emergency preparedness around chem weapon disposal sites.

- July 31. Workers in Oregon file lawsuit charging the US Army and its contractor, Raytheon with covering up leaks of mustard and the nerve gas Sarin at the Umatilla chem weapons incinerator construction site which left 34 workers ill last September 15.

- September 4. While driving on Interstate 80 Trina Allen, a former hazardous waste manager at the Utah incinerator, notices thousands of munitions once filled with nerve agent dumped close to the interstate with nothing to prevent their contents from blowing into the surrounding communities or the Great Salt Lake. Allen takes samples from the site for toxicity analysis.

- September 15. An Army report recommends that each of the eight continental US chem weapons stockpile disposal facilities contine to be considered for disposal of non-stockpile chemical materiel. Non-Stockpile Coalition urges Army to support non-incineration, transportable technologies for non-stockpile weapons disposal, arguing that the Army has promised that chem weapons incinerators would be used to destroy stockpiled weapons only and recommending the destruction of additional wastes, breaches the trust of the citizens.

- September 17. Samples taken from munitions once filled with nerve agent and discovered dumped near Interstate 80 in Utah show harmful contaminants still present--lead residues at 600 parts per million (ppm). The EPA limit for lead is 5 ppm before it is deemed a threat. Utah DEQ takes no steps to isolate the area and protect workers who are handling the munitions.

- September 19. Utah DEQ authorizes restart of deactivation furnace at Utah incinerator after it was shut down for 181 days following May 8-9 nerve agent releases. Local group, Families Against Incinerator Risk, charges that plant engineers have not addressed the root cause of operating outside of design parameters by continuing to burn munitions filled with gelled nerve agent.

- September 21. Subcommittee of US Congress holds hearing as part of investigation into May 8-9 agent releases at Utah incinerator. At hearing Alabama Sen. Bob Riley comments, "It is absolutely wrong what they're [the Army] doing to communities today. There's got to be a better way."

- October 16 - November 22. Six grapefruit-sized "bomblets" discovered at Colorado's Rocky Mountain Arsenal. Non-Stockpile Coalition members say release of the chemical agents contained in the bomblets could impact nearby residents and it is imperative citizens have a role in determining which disposal method should be used.

- November 21. Local group, Pine Bluff for Safe Disposal, submits comments on Army report on the disposal of non-stockpile materiel in the chem weapons incinerator currently under construction at the Pine Bluff Arsenal. Group says incineration of any type of chem weapons is unsafe and Army should look toward safer alternatives.

- November. EPA releases report "ACWA Technologies" which identifies broad applications for non-incineration chem weapons disposal technologies, including Superfund and RCRA clean-ups.

- November 28. In a lawsuit brought by Coosa River Basin Initiative, Inc., a circuit court judge rules that the Alabama Dept. of Environmental Management erred in the procedures used to set a cancer risk level in permitting the chem weapons incinerator. When finalized in a written decision, the ruling could invalidate the permit and halt construction of the incinerator.

2001
- January 9. More than 400 Kentucky citizens attend the National Environmental Protection Act scoping meeting in Richmond and send clear message to PMCD--"No incineration."

- January-February. The GB-filled "bomblets" discovered in Colorado last year are successfully destroyed at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal using a mobile, non-incineration technology--the Explosive Destruction System.

- April 10. Local groups charge illegal bias in Army selection of CW disposal technology for Colorado. Colorado citizens release an internal Army memo from a high-level Army lawyer which advises the Army's top acquisition official to begin preparing others in the Army hierarchy for the selection of incineration as the preferred technology for Pueblo. The groups call this memo proof that the Army has already decided on incineration for the Colorado stockpile and that is illegal.

- April. A National Research Council (NRC) report finds there are technologies for disposal of "non-stockpile" CW wastes that pose low risk to workers and communities, compared to incineration. The NRC found that "the benefits of [some non-incineration] technologies over incineration include low worker risk, public acceptance, low risk to the surrounding community, and simplicity of operation."

- April 19. Nine community organizations in Alabama petition the EPA to take away the Alabama Department of Environmental Management's (ADEM) authority to issue hazardous waste management and treatment permits. The groups claim that ADEM did not meet Federal requirements to minimize hazards to human health and the environment when it issued its permit for the Anniston CW incinerator.

- April 25. At a US Senate Subcommittee hearing, CWWG presents internal Army documents revealing: (1) that based on operational data from the existing CW incinerators, the US stockpile can't be destroyed by incineration before 2018; (2) 15 confirmed instances of agent releases from the Army's existing incinerators, although publicly PMCD admits to only five releases; and (3) the actual cost projection of the incineration program is $24 billion rather than PMCD's latest public projection of $15.7 billion.

- April-May. PMCD puts part of its $30 million "spin" budget to use in an attempt to discredit the information and documents presented by CWWG at the April 25 hearing. PMCD representatives are quoted in various news media accusing CWWG of inaccuracy and false assumptions.

- May 8. A Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysis of the information and documents presented at the April 25 hearing on schedule projections finds that CWWG's calculations and assumptions are accurate.

- May. In separate letters, US Senators Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Richard Shelby (R-AL) ask Secretary of the Army Donald Rumsfeld to act on reforming the CW demilitarization program. In his letter, McConnell expresses his frustration with the program's "alarming lack of oversight and accountability." Shelby's letter also cites lack of accountability within the program.

- May 14. Senator Mitch McConnell writes another letter to Secretary of the Army Rumsfeld to point to the results of the Congressional Research Service analysis as further evidence of how PMCD habitually misleads the Congress and affected citizens concerning its CW incineration program.

- June 6. The Deseret News reveals a February 2001 Army Audit Agency Report which shows that 1000s of design changes have been made at the CW incinerators and in making the changes, the Army ignored cost, schedule and environmental impacts and violated rules both inside and outside the military in order to keep the program going.

- June 8. Residents hold protest outside Anniston Army Depot prior to incinerator ribbon-cutting ceremony they were not invited to attend.

- July. In a brief filed in Circuit Court in Multnomah County, Oregon, petitioners cite two recently uncovered internal memos, written by an Oregon Department of Environmental Quality permit chief, which raise concerns about the Army's credibility and the inability of the dunnage incinerator at the Umatilla CW incineration facility to operate.

- August. A General Accounting Office (GAO) report finds that 1000s of people who live near CW stockpiles face an unnecessarily high risk in case of an incinerator accident. The report blames poor management on the part of the Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency for the problems.

- August 8. By unanimous consent delegates to the national Southern Christian Leadership Conference convention in Montgomery, AL adopt a resolution opposing the incineration of the CW stockpile at the Anniston Army Depot and supporting the retrofit of the incinerator with a safer non-incineration alternative.

- August 13. Army holds ribbon-cutting ceremony for its CW incinerator in Oregon.

- September. A review of CW demilitarization by the Defense Acquisitions Board pegs the price tag of the incineration program at $24 billion and shows that only one of the six incineration sites (Utah) has even a remote chance of completing the job by the 2007 Chemical Weapons Treaty deadline.

- October 16. Multnomah Circuit Judge Michael H. Marcus agrees with petitioners, opposing the CW incinerator in Oregon, that they had been denied the opportunity to present evidence in a "trial-like" atmosphere before the State Environmental Quality Commission and rules that they have the right to make a record in his court.

- November. The Pueblo, Colorado Area Union Labor Council, County Commission, City Council, Chamber of Commerce and the Latino Chamber of Commerce all endorse a non-incineration disposal approach for the Pueblo stockpile.

- December 7. US Congess passes an Amendment to the 2002 Defense Bill which directs the Secretary of the Army to report, by March 15, 2002, on the viability and applicability of disassembly and neutralization of chemical weapons stored in the US (a plan proposed and advocated by the CWWG).

- December 12. Secretary of the Army Thomas White announces that the chemical weapons disposal program is to be restructured--moved from an Army acquisition program to an Army environmental program. CWWG and supportive U.S. Congressional leaders had called for restructuring of the program earlier in the year.

2002

- January 10. Army announces accelerated neutralization in Maryland. Plan calls for a three-step process: drain the agent from the ton containers; neutralize it; and send secondary waste to permitted biological treatment facility. This plan eliminates need for large complex originally called for.

- January. When Senator Wayne Allard learns that a technology decision for the Pueblo, Colorado stockpile will be pushed back from January to May, he strongly encourages the Army to use the time to consider the community's choice of neutralization, which he supports.

- February 1. Alabama Governor Siegelman announces intention to sue Army to block incineration start-up because of Army's refusal to address safety concerns.

- February 4. President's budget request calls Army's chem demil program "ineffective" (lowest possible ranking); cites cost, schedule, safety, environmental and management problems.

- February 12. Army announces that in the interest of national security, it will neutralize VX stored in ton containers at the Tooele, Utah chemical depot by mixing the agent with water.

- February 14. Alabama Governor files suit to stop incineration; accuses the Army and the Federal Emergency Management Agency of failing to provide the maximum protection necessary for the citizens of Calhoun County.

- February 25. Colorado Governor Bill Owens joins Senator Wayne Allard and a broad-based coalition of citizens and organizations in support of using neutralization to destroy the 2,600 tons of mustard agent stockpile at the Pueblo Depot. In letter to Undersecretary of Defense Pete Aldridge, Owens urges him to honor the community's preference.

CWWG Home Page

Contact us: Chemical Weapons Working Group Kentucky Environmental Foundation P.O. Box 467 Berea, KY 40403 phone: 859-986-7565 fax: 859-986-2695 For comments about this WWW page contact Lois Kleffman.