Bureau of National Affairs, Inc.
Daily Environment Report

Wednesday, February 25, 2004

No. 36
Page A-10
ISSN 1521-9402             

Hazardous Waste                                                          

Sarin Detected Inside Sealed Container                                  
At Alabama Army Chemical Weapons Facility                               
                                                                         
By Linda Roeder                                                

                   Personnel at an Army chemical weapons
                  incineration facility in Alabama have
                  found "a very low reading" of the nerve
                  agent sarin inside a large onsite sealed
                  container holding munitions slated for
                  disposal, an Army spokesman confirmed Feb.
                  24.

                  Michael Abrams, public affairs officer at
                  the Anniston (Ala.) Chemical Agent
                  Demilitarization Facility (ANCDF), told
                  BNA that "workers were never at risk
                  because the agent was inside a sealed
                  container." The "small amount of agent"
                  detected was most likely vapor, Abrams
                  said.

                  "This is the first time we have detected
                  agent inside a container at our facility.
                  It means we have to exercise a little
                  extra care in handling the weapons inside
                  this container," he said, adding workers
                  will have to wear extra safety equipment.

                  What the reading means, he said, is that
                  the agent leaked from the weapons into the
                  sealed container, but not from the sealed
                  container into the atmosphere.

                  Prior to unsealing a container for
                  incineration, he said, facility staff use
                  a chemical agent monitor to safety test
                  each container. The containers, which each
                  hold about 30 rockets, are opened in a
                  sealed facility precluding agent release
                  into the atmosphere or any threat to the
                  community, Abrams said.


                              Previous Incident

                  The discovery follows another incident on
                  Feb. 4 when an alarm sounded at the
                  facility alerting managers that "a minute
                  level of agent was detected" in an
                  unoccupied observation corridor, ANCDF had
                  reported. Two workers were reportedly in
                  the area, but Abrams had told BNA they
                  were not injured and medical tests found
                  no evidence of nerve agent exposure.

                  Sarin is a man-made colorless liquid that
                  is used in chemical warfare as a nerve
                  agent. It can evaporate into a gas and
                  spread into the environment.

                  On Feb. 16, a coalition of citizens groups
                  asked the Defense Department to suspend
                  operations and investigate problems at the
                  Anniston facility. The letter was signed
                  by 16 groups, including the Chemical
                  Weapons Working Group, Families Concerned
                  About Nerve Gas, and Citizens for
                  Environmental Justice (31 DEN A-8, 2/18/04
                  (Embedded image moved to file:
                  pic11942.gif)).

                  Since the Anniston incinerator began
                  burning chemical weapons in August 2003,
                  there have been numerous unanticipated
                  shutdowns, technical problems, system
                  malfunctions, and hundreds of chemical
                  agent alarms, the letter said.

                  But Abrams said storing the chemical
                  weapons poses a greater danger to the
                  community than incinerating them.

                  Craig Williams, executive director of the
                  Chemical Weapons Working Group, told BNA
                  Feb. 24 the group was not aware of the
                  latest incident. Potential dangers depend
                  on the amount of agent, the proximity of
                  workers to the leak area, and how quickly
                  the incident was brought under control, he
                  said.

                  Abrams told BNA the facility suspended
                  operations Feb. 7-12 and again Feb. 16-22
                  for "routine maintenance."

                  Since the Feb. 4 incident, Abrams said,
                  facility managers have revised procedures
                  for employees leaving toxic or "hot" areas
                  "to enhance the safety of workers and the
                  community."

                  The startup of the Anniston chemical
                  weapons incineration project in August
                  followed years of protests by citizen and
                  environmental groups. Since then, Abrams
                  told BNA, 18,636 rockets and 20,799
                  gallons of GB or sarin have been destroyed
                  at the facility.