Attorney says government ignored potential gas leak

By William McCall, Associated Press Writer

PORTLAND - The attorney for construction workers who claim they were poisoned by sarin gas at a chemical weapons depot told a judge Friday the issue isn't whether there was a leak but how the Army responded when the workers became violently ill.

"It was a choking, take you to your knees kind of event - it essentially made you think you were in danger of losing your life," attorney James McCandlish said in closing arguments.

The Army, he said, stuck "its head in the sand."

McCandlish represents dozens of workers who sued the government, alleging the Army was negligent for not responding faster when the workers fell ill on Sept. 15, 1999 while building an incinerator that will eventually be used to destroy the depot's chemical weapons.

The workers reported various symptoms, including nausea and vomiting, but investigators later determined there was no trace of a leak from the hundreds of concrete igloos where weapons are stored.

On Friday, McCandlish claimed the Army had a duty to rush to the construction site to administer emergency medical care and conduct extensive testing to ensure there was no leak or contamination.

Instead, he said, site managers and Army officials dismissed the possibility of a leak based only on casual evidence and confused initial reports from the scene.

"They seemed to be operating under the assumption that this could never happen here," McCandlish said.

He noted the depot issued a press release before the workers were taken to the hospital, reassuring the public there had been no weapons leak.

James Brennan, a Justice Department attorney, said the Army had a responsibility to avoid public panic after quickly determining there had been no leak.

"Would you declare an emergency without confirming it?" Brennan said. "That's not the way it works."

In his closing arguments for the federal government, Brennan said the Army checked separate systems to make sure there had been no leak from the igloos and tested the air around the construction site.

He also said the Army had to rely on the contractor building the incinerator - Raytheon - to make the initial medical determination about the workers because Raytheon was legally responsible for the safety and care of its employees, not the Army.

"When the government asked if they needed assistance, they (Raytheon) said we don't need your help," Brennan said.

McCandlish argued the Army was responsible for handling any serious problems at the construction site because only the government had the resources, medical staff, equipment and supplies to respond to a major emergency.

He noted evidence introduced at trial that the depot clinic had 600 nerve gas antidote kits while the Raytheon infirmary trailer had none.

McCandlish also suggested the leak could have resulted from routine maintenance operations at a weapons igloo the morning the workers became ill.

Brennan, however, said scientific studies of a potential leak suggested it was impossible for nerve gas to escape and travel all the way to the incinerator construction site.

Emergency response plans were in place, but no leak was expected unless there was a disaster, such as an explosion at an igloo, he said.

"This stuff just won't get out, otherwise," Brennan said.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Hubel heard the case without a jury at the request of the workers and the government.

Hubel surprised attorneys for both sides by saying he plans to visit the depot on Nov. 11 before making a ruling.