Nerve agent vapors detected at Army depot
By Ronica Brandenburg

Army officials have confirmed that nerve agent GB or “sarin” was detected Monday inside a chemical weapons storage igloo at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

“The amount of agent detected was well below that which would harm an individual, but safety dictates that the vapor leak be located and placed in a leakproof overpack container,” said Lt. Col. George Shuplinkov, Blue Grass Chemical Activity commander.

The GB vapor level was so low that it took two tests to confirm its existence, said Bonnie McCoy, Blue Grass Chemical Activity supervisory chemist.

GB nerve agent is a colorless and odorless liquid that evaporates as fast as water. It is stored inside M-55 rockets and is an inhalation hazard only, but was designed to be very deadly, Sloan said. The agent remains sealed in the igloo and has not leaked out into the atmosphere.

The agent was detected by the process of a first-entry monitoring system. There are 49 igloos on the depot and 45 of them contain chemical weapons. Each of the 45 active igloos are monitored daily, and the atmosphere of each igloo is tested before workers enter. The air used in the test is then passed through a gas chromatograph that destroys the sample as it is analyzed.

In order to rid the igloo of the leaking agent, it will be flushed using a high-powered air filter. Once that has been done, workers will dress in protective gear and enter the igloo to make a visual inspection, Sloan said. If the leaking weapon(s) are not found right away, a much more detailed process goes into effect.

Each set of pallets will be covered, sealed-off and left for 24 hours. Then, workers will test the air in each pallet to help determine the leaking rocket.

Laboratory technicians will continue to monitor the igloo until the leaking rocket has been overpacked and placed into another igloo which only has leaking GB munitions, said Dick Sloan, Blue Grass Chemical Activity public relations officer.

There is no danger to the community and local and state emergency preparedness officials have been notified, he said.

From May to October, 2005, there were approximately five different leaks reported at the depot. Two of the leaks were mustard agent and the rest were GB nerve agent

Ronica Brandenburg can be reached at rbrandenburg@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.