Cleanup workers at McClellan find another ampule

By Rob Jordan
Star Staff Writer
09-01-2004

Workers discovered a small container of liquid believed to be chemical agent Monday at a former chemical weapons training site at McClellan, according to the Army. The discovery is the second of its kind since December at the former military base. Employees of an Army contractor were sifting through soil as part of decontamination work, when the pre-World War II ampoule was found. The container, which looks like a glass test tube, was not broken or leaking, according to Army Corps of Engineers spokesman E. Patrick Robbins. Air monitors did not detect an agent release in the area, according to Robbins, who said such discoveries are not uncommon during base cleanups. Army technicians from Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md. will evaluate the ampoule within days. Until then, the ampoule will be stored on-site in a container designed for hazardous-waste storage, Robbins said. The discovery, less than a month after revelations that an Army contractor had improperly disposed of unexploded ordnance at the former fort, came as surprise to Pete Conroy, a member of the Anniston-Calhoun County Joint Powers Authority board. “It does kind of seem like when it rains it pours,” Conroy said. While such discoveries are not unheard of during base cleanup projects, Conroy said, Monday’s unearthing will make it more difficult to market the land. Conroy said he was happy with the Army’s rapid notification and would continue to press for a thorough and transparent cleanup process. In November, cleanup at the site was halted when work turned up a vial, also pre-World War II era, containing less than half a teaspoon of chemical agent. At the time, the JPA criticized the Army for waiting more than a week to notify the public. The six-acre toxic agent yard, used during the 1960s, held chemicals such as liquid smoke, tearing agent, chlorine and mustard or blister agent. When the training school closed in 1973, agent left on the toxic yard was destroyed and the sump was filled with dirt. The cleanup involves digging up the dirt — about 2200 cubic yards of it — to make sure all the buried containers are free of chemical agent.

About Rob Jordan

Rob Jordan covers criminal justice issues for The Star.