While there is a difference of opinion about the scale of the violations, officials from ADEM and the ANCDF agree they were not major and did not expose workers or the public to danger.

The violations include failures to clean up hydraulic-fluid spills in the Munitions Demilitarization Building at the facility, secondary waste being stored in the building beyond a 72-hour limit, violations of standard operating procedures in lab areas, and violations of parameters in certain equipment.

All but three of the violations were reported to ADEM by the ANCDF itself, and Tim Garrett, the Army project site manager at the facility, said procedures were changed last fall to address most of the issues. ADEM's letter said most of the issues have been resolved, either by the ANCDF or through follow-up inspections by the department.

"(Workers) may be sent in to do a maintenance effort on a piece of equipment in an agent area," Garrett said. "They'll go in and do work on that equipment. If there's a hydraulic leak and they have time, they'll try and clean it up."

Maintenance at the facility is complicated by the hazards of nerve agent. Workers who go into agent areas in the building must suit up and only can work on their tasks for two hours at a time.

"You don't just walk in these areas," Garrett said. "It requires a lot more planning to do something as mundane as picking up secondary waste. It's not like a janitor picking up trash."

An ANCDF press release called the infractions "minor." Jerome Hand, public relations director for ADEM, disagreed with that characterization.

"I wouldn’t classify them as minor, but I wouldn't classify them as major, either," he said. "They're violations."

ADEM also cited the ANCDF for improper calibration of equipment responsible for monitoring carbon monoxide in the plant. The two entities disagreed over the interpretation of regulations for that, but Garrett said the ANCDF would abide by ADEM's ruling.

The letter tells the ANCDF to adjust the calibration system and address three hydraulic spills that occurred in October and December.

Garrett and Hand both said the two agencies are working together to resolve the issues.

The ANCDF currently is modifying equipment to begin processing VX-filled munitions. Weapons processing is expected to resume in early July, and Garrett said the citations will not affect the switchover.