Anniston Star
May 31, 2003

Leak, power outage shuts down Maryland chemical disposal facility

By Sara Clemence
Star Staff Writer
05-31-2003

The chemical weapons disposal facility in Aberdeen, Md., was back up and running Friday after a vapor leak and power outage shut the plant down earlier in the week.

A chemical vapor leak occurred at the same time as a power outage Wednesday afternoon, causing workers to evacuate the Aberdeen facility, officials said.

The simultaneous mishaps were a "coincidence," said Barry Napp, spokesman for the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

Nobody showed signs of exposure to the mustard agent, he said.

The vapor leaked while workers were doing maintenance in a sealed chamber at the heart of the facility, Napp said.

The two workers were wearing protective suits and breathing equipment, he said.

"The presence of minute vapor is kind of expected," Napp said. "They were prepared for the possibility."

When the alarm sounded, the workers left the building, along with other staffers who put on masks, he said.

An analysis later showed low levels of agent in the area outside the chamber.

"They did what they were supposed to do and we learned a valuable lesson," Napp said. "Nobody in the community or the facility was in jeopardy."

The source of the power outage, Napp said, was a switch in the electrical substation. The facility's back-up power system went on, but operations were halted temporarily.

The Anniston Army Depot is well prepared for a similar incident, an official there said.

"We have two huge diesel generators that are designed to come up immediately when a power outage is perceived," said Mike Abrams, spokesman for the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

The generators create enough power to enable workers to safely shut down operations, plus maintain all monitoring and security systems, Abrams said.

"We have absolutely no plan to continue operations under those circumstances," he said.

The Department of Defense has about 2,253 tons of GB nerve agent, VX nerve agent, and mustard blister agent weapons stored at the depot.

In 2001, contractors completed a costly incinerator for destroying the weapons, but burning has not yet begun. In recent weeks, Army officials floated a plan to begin limited operations in June.

The Aberdeen facility uses a neutralization process to dispose of the mustard agent stored there.