BLAZE BLAMED ON LEAK

By Amy Riggin/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF
Friday,  June 24, 2005 

WHITE HALL -- A leaking canister of white phosphorus caused the June 6 warehouse fire at the Pine Bluff Arsenal, an Arsenal official said Thursday.

"The fire originated in the east end of the warehouse as a result of white phosphorus being exposed to oxygen in the atmosphere," said Arsenal spokeswoman Cheryl Avery in a written statement.

According to Avery, the independent fire investigation found that the chemical "more likely than not" leaked from a pinhole in one of the canisters housed in the now destroyed warehouse on post.

Oxidation caused the pinhole, Avery said.

The heat produced by the leaking canister heated the surrounding canisters and then caught the roof framing on fire, Avery said.

Along with the aging warehouse, the fire also destroyed more than 7,500 canisters of white phosphorus, a chemical the Arsenal manufactures for use in incendiary devices, smoke screens and signals.

White phosphorus, a highly flammable and potentially harmful chemical, catches fire once exposed to air or to heat 90 degrees Fahrenheit and above, Arsenal officials have said.

The June 6 fire burned for approximately 17 hours, sending chemical smoke into the air and over the Arkansas River caused some Jefferson County Sheriff's deputies to complain of itching skin for an hour after being exposed to the smoke.

The white phosphorous burned in the warehouse was not being stored in explosive rounds, Arsenal officials have said.

The blaze reignited on June 9 after temperatures in the Arsenal area rose to 90 degrees, according to Thomas J. Braumuller, assistant fire chief for the Arsenal Fire Department.

After June 9, Arsenal crews kept the debris under control by using light sprays of water from a system of shower-like misters.

The warehouse blazes were unrelated to the fires that also occurred on post during the incineration of sarin-filled M55 rockets, according to Col. Tom Woloszyn, the Arsenal's commander.

Cleanup of the warehouse fire debris, which is expected to take up to 90 days, should start in about a month, said Mark Lumpkin, director of Risk Management and Regulatory Affairs for the Arsenal.

The cleanup process along with safety plans regarding handling leftover canisters and exposed white phosphorus must be coordinated with the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality, according to Lumpkin.

Lumpkin also heads the Army investigation board formed by the Arsenal to help conduct the fire investigation.

Earlier this week, he said the Arsenal will seek bids on the cleanup job within the next 30 days.

Meanwhile, Arsenal crews will be checking white phophorus canisters for any holes or openings that would expose the chemical to air, Avery said.

"Questionable canisters will be isolated" for safety until they can be properly disposed of, she said.

Meanwhile, a few other warehouses on post have both components of white phosphorus and full projectiles, Woloszyn has said.

One of those other warehouses includes one that housed "similar components to the warehouse that burned" on June 6, he said.

Investigators also checked that warehouse while on post, according to Woloszyn.