Tue, Mar. 9, 2004

Scientists:  Chemical monitoring systems "adequate"
Tuesday, Aug 30, 2005

By Alison Vekshin
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- Technology used to monitor toxic leaks at plants like the Pine Bluff Arsenal that dispose of chemical weapons is adequate to protect workers and the public, but the Army might consider improvements to reduce false alarms, a committee of scientists concluded in a report released on Monday.

A study panel convened by the National Research Council recommended the Army consider upgrading to more sensitive measuring equipment to detect releases of poisonous material and improve safety.

Apart from that, "the committee finds that the current airborne agent monitoring systems are adequate to safely protect the chemical demilitarization workforce, the public and the environment," the 11-member committee said in the report.

The National Research Council, which advises the federal government on scientific and technical matters, formed the committee in July 2004 at the request of the Army. The study group was led by Charles Kolb, chairman of Aerodyne Research, Inc., in Billerica, Mass.

The panel was asked to review the systems used to monitor airborne chemical agent levels from weapons disposal, and to explore new technology.

The committee recommended the Army explore "real-time" monitoring in areas where chemical agents are unpacked, and also equipment that can sense the presence of multiple toxic agents.

The panel also urged consideration of using portable sensors that would respond quickly to toxic leaks.

The scientists found that some advanced equipment held promise, but urged the Army to conduct a thorough analysis to show whether the risk reduction to the public and plant workers would justify the costs.

"We take the recommendations that the National Research Council has made very seriously," said Raini Wright, a Pine Bluff Arsenal spokeswoman.

"Any time we have the opportunity to improve upon our monitoring, we know that's our responsibility to the public and to our community," Wright said. "We want to provide the safest possible environment for our workers, the community and the environment."

Marilyn Daughdrill, a spokeswoman for the Chemical Materials Agency, said it was too soon to say how the Army would respond to the recommendations.

"We were gratified to see that they thought the current systems are adequate," Daughdrill said.

The monitoring systems are used to warn workers of unhealthy levels of agents and to document releases that might harm the population or the environment.

The Army tests the air inside much of the Pine Bluff weapons incineration plant every 15 minutes or less for concentrations of agents that exceed set safety levels.

As a backup, a second system detects agents at concentration levels three to 10 times lower.

Separately, air is sampled at plant perimeters to detect toxins that might escape into nearby communities.

The Pine Bluff Arsenal began destroying its stockpile of chemical agents in March. The arsenal houses 12.6 percent of the government's chemical stockpile, which includes blister agent, mustard gas, and the nerve agents VX and sarin.

In all, the Army is operating six disposal facilities as part of an effort to destroy the nation's chemical weapons stockpile by a 2012 international treaty deadline. So far, just more than a third of the chemical agent in the original stockpile has been destroyed.