Star Staff Writer
Preliminary X-ray results on an old howitzer munition found at McClellan last week show that it probably does not contain chemical agent.
A team from the U.S. Army Technical Escort Unit based in Aberdeen, Md., which deals with chemical and biological weapons, was at the former military base Saturday to assess the two-foot-long, 100-pound round.
A powerful X-ray showed that the round, thought to possibly contain harmful mustard agent, does not have any liquid inside.
“It looks like we don’t have a problem,” said Gary Harvey, the Army’s site manager for McClellan’s transition force. “But it’s not confirmed, and I can’t say definitely.”
Confirmation may come today, he said. The Materiel Assessment Review Board, based in Maryland, will review the data and confirm the results.
The round was found in a closed area of the new Mountain Longleaf National Wildlife Refuge, during cleanup of an old chemical training site.
The round is in a remote part of the refuge and has armed guards around the clock, Harvey said. He asked that the exact location not be revealed, for security reasons.
If there does turn out to be liquid inside the round, the Technical Escort Unit will use other equipment that can determine what it is without draining a sample.
If the munition does contain harmful chemicals, it will mean a lot of internal review for the Army, Harvey said, because such a find was unexpected.
Visitors to the site Saturday were not allowed near the round, which was inside a fenced area surrounded by woods. A medical team was on standby, and handheld air monitors were ready to report any problems.
Mustard is a blister agent that burns and damages lungs, skin and eyes, and can kill in high doses.
About a half-dozen members of the Technical Escort Unit traveled to Anniston for the mission, said Cathy Kropp, spokeswoman for the unit.
The unit also does chemical and biological weapons cleanup, and is the only Army unit authorized to transport such materials.
They travel to check found munitions “all the time,” Kropp said.
“More and more, as we turn the base realignment sites over to public land,” she said. “And there are a lot of World War II vets who brought back souvenirs with them, and now their families are finding these things.”
Some members of the unit have been deployed to Iraq, Kropp said.
Today, the team will X-ray other training rounds found at McClellan, to make absolutely sure they are empty, Harvey said.
The former military base closed in 1999, and is being cleaned and redeveloped for local use.