Chemical Weapons Working Group
P.O. Box 467, Berea, Kentucky 40403
Phone: (859) 986-7565 Fax: (859) 986-2695
e-mail: craig@cwwg.org
web: www.cwwg.org
for more information contact:
Craig Williams 859-986-7565
Jason Groenewold 801-364-5110
for immediate release: Tuesday, April
6, 2004
INTERNAL MEMOS SHOW SERIOUS PROBLEMS CONTINUE TO PLAGUE ARMY'S
UTAH CHEMICAL WEAPONS INCINERATOR
Nerve agent spills, Near misses, and 'Operational Discipline' problems cited
An internal Army memorandum to the
EG&G Defense Materials, Inc. General Manager reveals spills of chemical
agent, "near misses" of agent exposure to workers and other unsafe practices
persisting at the Tooele, Utah chemical weapons incinerator.
In the memo, dated March 16, 2004, the Army noted that
performance at the Utah incinerator "is regressing back towards pre July
15, 2002 operational discipline." It was on that day that several workers
were exposed to nerve agent while working at the incinerator. The incident
resulted in a eight month shutdown of the incinerator, which cost U.S>
taxpayers over $60 million. Sources within the facility indicate the
workers exposed to chemical agent that day suffered longer term health problems,
though the Army says there were no known negative impacts.
Now, a year after operations resumed, the Army memo
says, "It is difficult to understand how [EG&G] could allow the performance
of disciplined operations to degrade to its current state."
The list of incidents in the memo, which according
to the Army "is not at all inclusive, but rather identifies the most significant
and notable events," includes the following:
- A VX agent spill of approximately 30 gallons
following improper maintenance;
- Nearly 100 gallons of VX agent pumped to a sump
instead of the furnace following improper maintenance;
- Modifications made to the facility which invalidated
the Job Hazards Analysis;
- Workers sent into agent contaminated areas without
proper protection;
- Several incidents of inaccurate documentation
surrounding operational conditions; and,
- Several near-misses of agent exposure to workers.
The memo also states, "It is not clear that the Operations
Department fully understands its responsibilities with respect to safety"
and "this team has yet to demonstrate an ability to consistently preclude
operational upsets."
An internal reply memo from EG&G, dated 22 March
states, "EG&G management has had difficulty understanding the root causes
of the unexpected undesired results of operations and work activities which
have occurred......" and " Individual unexpected undesired events were analyzed
based on the specific facts of each occurrence and their collective significance
was not understood or addressed."
"This is astonishing," said Jason Groenewold, Director
of Utah's Families Against Incinerator Risk. "If this keeps up, someone
is going to get hurt again - or worse. It appears the facility's 'Commitment
to Safety' slogan is nothing more than a catchy PR sound-bite."
Craig Williams, Director of the Chemical Weapons Working
Group said, "It's disturbing that after more than 7 years of operations in
Utah, these kinds of incidents continue to occur. Perhaps more troubling
is that it appears no one understands why they occur or how to fix them."
Last week, in testimony before the House Armed Services
Committee, Pentagon and Army officials repeatedly praised incineration
operations as safe and on track, according to citizens present at the proceedings.
However, the General Accounting Office (GAO) testified
that delays in the disposal program stem in part from "incidents during operations,"
and further that, " Neither DOD nor the Army has adopted a comprehensive
risk management approach that could help mitigate potential problems that
affect program schedules, costs, and safety by anticipating problems and
developing proactive plans."
Williams noted, "It's troubling that the Congress
is being "spun" by the military leadership about the safety at these
incinerators. The House Armed Services Committee should invite some
Utah workers (not hand picked by the Army/EG&G) to testify and
get the real story about what's happening. Instead they rely on the same
old "song and dance" the military has been telling them for over a decade.
Unfortunately they seem eager to just go through the motions and turn a blind
eye to these serious issues."
-30-
Copies of the Army/EG&G memos are available upon request from the CWWG.
