for immediate release: August 25,1996
UTAH CHEMICAL WEAPONS INCINERATOR SHUT DOWN AFTER
LESS THAN 72 HOURS AFTER START UP DUE TO AGENT ALARMS
Berea, Kentucky-- Less than 72 hours after beginning operations, the
Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal System (TOCDF), the Army's first U.S.
incinerator for burning chemical weapons, was forced to shut down due
to agent alarms sometime Saturday afternoon. Agent was detected in the
charcoal filter system, a contained area outside the plant.
In a press release, issued Sunday the 25th, the Army claimed that events
of this type were "anticipated" as part of the shakedown process.
Craig Williams, spokesperson for the Chemical Weapons Working Group,
a coalition of citizens groups from all the sites where such weapons are
stored said, " This is the type of agent migration problem we brought to
the Court. The Army told the Judge, just weeks ago, that such problems
were addressed in the processes leading up to live agent burns. Now they
say it was "anticipated," that is not what they told the Judge."
During a motion for an injunction to block start-up in Federal Court in
August, the Army claimed that these problems had been worked out of
the system based on their experience at the two prototype facilities in
Utah and the Pacific. They also presented statements indicating that
"systemization" undergone at TOCDF insured secure operations of the
facility. Systemization includes operating the facility with no warfare
agent by burning less toxic materials in preparation for the live agent, to
insure the reliability of the system once agent is introduced. The CWWG
questioned the adequacey of these preparations.
"On Thursday the Army public relations folks were plying the media with
milk, cookies and propaganda about how reliable TOCDF was," said
Williams, "now their trying to have us believe this incident was
"anticipated."
Cindy King of the Utah Sierra Club, commenting on Saturday's incident
said, "it appears that only body bags will convince the Court or the Utah
regulatory authorities to halt TOCDF, at least until our full case is
heard."
The Army claimed no agent escaped into the environment.
"With the recent Pentagon acknowledgment concerning Gulf Vets
Syndrome, that they don't know the health effects of low-level agent
exposure, admitting to an atmospheric release only days after starting up
TOCDF would have been a "show-stopper". One fact is undeniable, the
system didn't function for even 72 hours after the unveiling," noted
Williams.
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