Anniston Star
August 27, 2003

More leaking rockets found in stockpile

By Nathan Solheim
Star Staff Writer
08-27-2003

A chemical agent monitor sounded Tuesday as Army workers were performing a routine inspection of M-55 rockets stored in an igloo at the Anniston Army Depot.

Army officials found three leaking rockets in the same igloo Monday and another one Tuesday.

Officials said agent most likely was detected by the monitor, but a final determination was not readily available. No agent escaped the igloo and no workers were harmed, officials said.

The rockets are filled with GB nerve agent and have been sealed into the igloo with an air filtering system since the monitor sounded Tuesday, officials said.

The munitions later will be put into containers and moved to an isolated storage facility, said Mike Abrams, an Army spokesman.

“Periodically, the Anniston Chemical Activity employees go into igloos looking to see if a random selection of rockets are OK,” Abrams said. “They were working with a sample of rockets and lo and behold, there was a leaking rocket. They have found four rockets that have been identified or will be formally identified as leakers.”

Abrams said the monitor sounded Tuesday after workers removed a plug from the shipping tube that contains the munition. Vapor was detected in each of the rockets, Abrams said.

An Army official said there is no danger for depot employees or the community.

“The rockets are not a threat to the community, nor the depot work force,” said Lt. Col. Robert E. Jones, commander of the Anniston Chemical Activity.