Local
Weapons igloos being renovated
WORK
AT DEPOT
REPAIRS TIME'S DAMAGE
By Nina Coolidge
HERALD-LEADER STAFF
WRITER
RICHMOND -
For more than a year, crews at the Blue Grass Army Depot have been
completing
the tedious task of renovating 49 cement buildings that are home to 523
tons of
lethal chemical weapons.
The buildings, known as igloos, date to when
the depot
was built in the early 1940s. Although dramatic improvements have been
made in
security and monitoring, the igloos themselves have not been updated
since
their construction.
Over the course of 60 years, the ditches that
divert
water from the igloos had filled with plants and soil. This kept water
from
draining out of the igloos, and the water and high humidity began to
affect the
wood pallets that hold the munitions.
The task of renovating the igloos fell to
Army Lt.
Col. George Shuplinkov, who oversees the Chemical Activity section of
the depot
where the nerve and blister agent is stored.
"Each igloo had a unique fix," Shuplinkov
said.
Ditches were cleared and vacuums were used to
remove
water from igloos. About half the work to stabilize the pallets has
been
completed.
Most of the renovations are being carried out
by
civilian workers employed by the Army.
The water problems did not affect the
chemical agent
itself, Shuplinkov said.
The depot also hopes to get permission to
reopen vents
in the igloos. The state ordered them closed several years ago as a
precaution
against chemical leaks. But that has contributed to the humidity in the
igloos,
Shuplinkov said.
He and the director of chemical operations,
Thom
Bilyeu, said they are confident that the depot's safety record will
speak for
itself and that state regulators will allow the vents to be reopened
soon.
The depot is one of only seven locations in
the United
States where chemical munitions are stored. An international treaty
requires
the United States to destroy its chemical weapons stockpile by April
2012, a
deadline that U.S. officials have said will not be met.
Shuplinkov will not be around to see the
completion of
the renovations. After completing his two-year post at the depot,
Shuplinkov
transferred command over to Lt. Col. Tom Closs this week. He is moving
to the
Army's inspector general's office.
"I am very, very confident leaving here that
it
will be in good hands," he said.
Reach Nina Coolidge at (859) 231-1468, or
1-800-950-6397, Ext. 1468, or at ncoolidge@herald-leader.com.