136th Year... and still on the job!	Wednesday Septemer 07, 2005

Utah weapons incineration needs $50 million upgrade

By JOHN NORTON
THE PUEBLO CHIEFTAIN

Advocates of the water neutralization method that will be used to destroy the Pueblo Chemical Depot's stockpile of mustard agent weapons feel some vindication with the news that the Defense Department will have to spend another $50 million to deal with mercury when it incinerates mustard weapons at the Deseret Chemical Depot.

After destroying its stockpile of sarin and VX nerve gas, the Deseret facility, near Tooele, Utah, has to dispose of 13,500 tons of mustard agent in 6,000 ton containers and 118,000 artillery rounds.

The U.S. Army originally wanted to use incinerators to destroy the 2,611 tons of mustard agent at the Pueblo Chemical Depot but local pressure forced a change to water neutralization. Community groups in Pueblo and in Kentucky pushed through legislation calling for the more environmentally-friendly method to be used here and at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky.

Now, because of mercury that could be spewed into the air from incineration, the Deseret depot will have to make $50 million in modifications to systems, according to Chemical and Engineering News, an industry publication.

Marty Gray, manager for chemical demilitarization in the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, said that a plan has been developed by the contractor, EG&G. The company still plans to incinerate most of the mustard agent but will install carbon filters on the stack for the batches that have high mercury levels.

For some of the ton containers, he said, a washout process will be used to dilute gelled mustard agent and "for the extremely high ones, they will build a small scale neutralization unit," he said.

"They hope they won't have to use it."