EXPERTS DUE AT ARSENAL TO AID PROBE

By Ray King/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

A group of specialists from Maryland is scheduled to arrive at the Pine Bluff Arsenal today to help investigate an apparent allergic reaction a worker suffered Wednesday.

"We've already started investigating but they have a certain level of expertise we don't," Arsenal spokeswoman Barbara Slifer said of the team from the Army Center for Health Promotion and Preventive Medicine at Aberdeen, Md.

The team was requested by Jerry Weilacher, the industrial hygiene program manager at the Arsenal.

Weilacher said Thursday he had ruled out organic vapors from a forklift used to unload the containers and planned to sample dust on and around them, adding that there were no signs of a liquid in the area.

The 39-year-old worker developed a rash, itching and shortness of breath after doing an inventory of boxes in metal containers used to transport military supplies. The boxes were unopened and contained protective suits used by soldiers in the field. They had been shipped from Kuwait.

Slifer said Friday the man reported to the Arsenal clinic and a doctor there determined he was "no longer symptomatic."

"The doctor will probably initiate allergy testing on the man in the next few days," she said.

Two paramedics from a local ambulance company experienced symptoms similar to the worker and all three were decontaminated at Jefferson Regional Medical Center.

Arsenal officials said the incident had nothing to do with chemical weapons stored at the facility awaiting destruction.