Committee passes funding bill to Senate

The Senate Appropriations Committee has approved a request from Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., for $2 million to fund an improved chemical warfare agent monitoring system at the Blue Grass Army Depot. The committee passed the request on to the full Senate as part of the Fiscal Year 2005 Defense Appropriations Bill.

“Last year, I secured language in the (fiscal year 2004) Defense authorization act to have the Army provide improved chemical monitoring devices at Blue Grass Army Depot,” Bunning said. “These appropriated funds will make sure the

Army does not lag behind to meet this very important requirement.”

The depot currently has the best monitoring equipment available from the Department of Defense, said Dick Sloan, public affairs officer for Blue Grass Chemical Activity. The equipment is capable of detecting chemicals in the air at parts per billion, he said.

“If there’s better technology out there and if it’s funded by the D.O.D., it would be a good thing to have, but we’re satisfied with the technology we have now,” he said.

The depot has never detected a leak outside an igloo where chemical weapons are stored, but it has inside an igloo and inside munitions, Sloan said. The igloos are checked weekly, he said.

“If there’s going to be a leaking munition we want to be able to detect it quickly to best protect the community,” he said.

Elizabeth Crowe, organizer with the Chemical Weapons Working Group in Berea, said area residents wonder whether they would know if chemical agents were released into the air.

“We're getting closer and closer to the day when weapons will be moved from the igloos, and the time has come to address this issue,” she said. “Advanced chemical agent monitoring systems can provide fast, accurate information on chemical agents in the air to help eliminate the guesswork and allow Depot workers and local residents to act quickly in case of a release. Two million dollars is a small price to pay for their safety.”

The advanced monitors would provide an additional layer of protection from lethal chemical agents, Crowe said.

“We are pleased that (Bunning’s) request for funding has passed through the Senate Appropriations Committee and trust it will be affirmed by the full Senate as well,” she said.

Ryan Garrett can be reached at rgarrett@richmondregister.com or at (859) 623-1669, Ext. 234.