For Immediate release: January 28, 1997
NERVE GAS LEAK SHUTS TOOELE, UTAH, CHEMICAL WEAPONS
INCINERATOR; PLANT CLOSED FOR SIXTH TIME DUE TO
"UNUSUAL OCCURRENCE"
The Army's controversial Tooele, Utah, chemical weapons incinerator suspended operations
earlier this week after lethal nerve agent leaked inside the plant to areas often occupied by
unprotected workers and/or visitors. At the time of the leak, 1:06 A.M., there were no persons
present in those areas. This marks the sixth shut down due to serious operating problems since
the facility began processing live agent last August.
According to an Army "Unusual Occurrence Report," air pressure adjustments being made to
keep flame strength in the liquid agent incinerator stable resulted in agent leaking into two
observation corridors. Personnel donned gas masks and the building was evacuated. Utah state
officials asked the Army to close the facility until the cause of the problem was determined and
corrected. The plant remains closed at this time.
Craig Williams, national spokesperson for the Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), who
have filed a lawsuit along with the Sierra Club and the Vietnam Veterans of America Foundation
to shut the facility down said, "Yet another dangerous incident illustrates this plant's defective
design, poor operating procedures, and lack of safety culture. Instead of suggesting that the
plant should be closed for a couple of days, the state should protect the workers and local
residents by suspending the Army's permit until a safe approach can be implemented."
The CWWG advocates use of alternative technologies, such as those recently approved by the
Army use at Aberdeen, Maryland, and Newport, Indiana, to destroy the arsenal at Tooele.
The CWWG Federal lawsuit to close the Tooele incinerator is scheduled to be heard in Federal
District Court in Salt Lake City from March 3rd through 7th.
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