RICHMOND - The Army announced yesterday that
workers had detected a leak of mustard agent at a Blue Grass Army Depot storage
building. The building, known as an igloo, was being filtered to prevent the chemical
agent from escaping into the air. The Army said there was no danger to the
community. Mustard agent, stored in projectiles, is the least lethal of the chemical
weapons at the depot. The nerve agents VX and GB also are stored there. Once found, the leaking projectile or projectiles will be packed into
a leakproof container. More than 15,000 155mm projectiles of mustard agent are stored at the
depot in Madison County. The stockpile dates to 1944. In May and June, five M55 rockets were found to be leaking the nerve agent
GB, better known as Sarin. Those were isolated and moved to a special storage
building for leaking containers. The number of leaks is unusual at the depot, which averages about two
a year.
Reach Peter Mathews in the Richmond bureau at (859) 626-5878
or pmathews@herald-leader.com.