News
WEAPONS WAREHOUSE
AT PB ARSENAL BURNS
By
Wilson Brown/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday, June 7, 2005
A fire destroyed a warehouse containing white
phosphorus at the Pine Bluff Arsenal on Monday. By 5 p.m., the fire had burned
itself out.
The incident was not related to disposal of
chemical weapons, according to officials.
White phosphorus is a substance used in incendiary devices and in ammunition
used for smoke screens.
The fire covered the skies over the Arsenal on Monday morning with thick,
hazy white smoke.
"The cause of the fire is still under investigation," Lt. Col. Searless Hathaway,
acting commander of the Arsenal, said during a press conference Monday afternoon.
Hathaway said she assumed the white phosphorus caught
fire, destroying the vintage World War II warehouse and more than 7,500 canisters
of white phosphorus housed there.
No injuries were reported, she said.
"The safety of the workers and community is first and foremost," Hathaway
said. "There is no immediate danger to the public unless they are exposed
to the fire's smoke for a long period of time. If area residents experience
symptoms such as watery eyes, sore throat, coughing or difficulty breathing,
they should immediately seek medical attention."
"This is one of the products we make here at the Arsenal," Hathaway said.
Clouds of the smoke could be seen from Pine Bluff overpasses as late as 11
a.m.
"It seems like it's diminished from earlier this morning," said Wally Hunt,
coordinator of the Jefferson County Office of Emergency Management.
The fire was discovered at 12:17 a.m., Hathaway said, during a routine security
check. The Arsenal's firefighters responded to it within minutes and the
Pine Bluff Fire Department was asked to be on standby.
About an hour later, the Arsenal crews had the fire under control and allowed
it to burn itself out, Hathaway said.
White Hall Mayor Jitters Morgan said Hunt notified him of the fire about
2 a.m. He said he talked with several Arsenal officials throughout the day,
as well.
"They told me they have it under control so I have to put my faith in them,"
Morgan said.
He said he did not personally receive any telephone calls from concerned
residents Monday.
According to Hathaway, the Arsenal didn't activate the tone alert system
since Monday's industrial fire had nothing to do with chemical weapons incineration.
The Arsenal did not call for an evacuation Monday.
"We never put that information out," Hathaway said.
The warehouse is in the production area of the installation near the Warbritton
Gate in the Arsenal.
Col. Tom Woloszyn, commander of the Arsenal, was away Monday and did not
return phone calls.
The smoke reached off the Arsenal base Monday and toward the Arkansas River
but never went across the river, Hathaway said.
"It can be harmful if directly inhaled," said Doug Szenher, a program support
manager in the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality's public outreach
and assistance division.
"We are involved in investigating the aftermath of the incident," Szenher
said Monday. "But right now we haven't had a chance to analyze any (soil
or water) samples."
Hathaway said the ADEQ and the Environmental Protection Agency staff were
on hand Monday performing tests to see how soil, air and water were affected.
According to the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, exposure
to white phosphorus can be harmful to humans and may cause "burns and irritation,
liver, kidney, heart, lung or bone damage and death."
But when in the air, the substance reacts rapidly with oxygen and changes
into "less harmful chemicals," the agency said.
People can be exposed to the chemical by breathing in contaminated air, swimming
in or drinking contaminated water or touching contaminated soil.
Breathing it for short periods of time can cause coughing and "irritation
of the throat and lungs," the agency said.
"If you're not standing in the smoke you shouldn't have any problems," said
Maj. Jon Jacobson, installation medical authority for the Arsenal.