ARSENAL:  PLAN IN PLACE FOR CLEANUP

By Wilson Brown/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Tuesday,  June 21, 2005 

Once cleanup begins, it could take more than eight weeks at the site of the June 6 warehouse fire at the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

"The duration will total anywhere from 60 to 90 days," Cheryl Avery, an Arsenal spokeswoman, said Monday.

It will take three weeks to plan the cleanup, a week for a cleanup company to arrive and four weeks to actually clean the site, Avery said.

Arsenal officials said they won't have a date for the cleanup to begin until after a cleanup company is hired.

The Arsenal plans to seek bids on the cleaup job within the next 30 days, said Mark Lumpkin, director of risk management for the Arsenal.

Lumpkin is also president of the Army accident investigation board tapped by the Arsenal to investigate the cause of the fire.

Sprinkler systems are still being used to cool the debris to keep it from flaring up as the fire investigation continues, he said.

In the meantime, this could pose problems for the cleanup company.

"The bottom line is they'll have to have it wet," Lumpkin said. "The only way to avoid it would be to have it cold or mist it."

White phosphorus catches fire when exposed to air or temperatures at or above 90 degrees Fahrenheit, according to Arsenal officials.

The Arsenal uses the chemical to make incendiary devices and in smoke screens and signals.

Prolonged exposure to the phosphorus can be dangerous, causing watery eyes and itching skin.

"Right now, the biggest concern is getting the slab cleared, because there might be some canisters under there that haven't ruptured," Lumpkin said.

Arsenal and fire investigators suspect a leaking canister of white phosphorus caused the 17-hour blaze on June 6 that destroyed a World War II-era warehouse and about 7,500 canisters of white phosphorus.

That fire sent white phosphorus into the air and over the river into parts of Jefferson County.

Hot temperatures are being blamed for reigniting the flames on June 9.

Any white phosphorus contaminated material would be considered hazardous waste, Lumpkin said, and would need to be taken to a permanent hazardous waste site.

Cleanup workers will also need to wear protective suits, he said.

Meanwhile, safety plans for handling the waste must be approved by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, Avery said.

The warehouse fires are unrelated to the fires that shut down the chemical weapons incineration twice last month at the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Facility on post.

For the past week, Arsenal crews have been reprocessing water used to battle the June 6 and June 9 blazes at a water cleaning facility on post.