Whistleblower claims leak detectors inoperative
By Ronica Brandenburg/Register News Writer

A Blue Grass Army Depot employee is claiming that nerve agent monitoring devices used to detect leaking chemicals in storage igloos have been inoperative until very recently.

Donald VanWinkle of Berea, who has worked as a air systems monitoring operator at the depot since 2002, prepared a sworn statement that was released Thursday by PEER (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility), based in Washington, D.C. PEER is asking the Department of Defense to conduct an inspection of the facility.

"In February or March of this year, I, along with other BGAD employees, attended training sessions with the manufacturer of the air-monitoring equipment we use," VanWinkle wrote in his affidavit. "During our training, we learned that the (air) sampling (methods) being used at BGAD to monitor the seven igloos that store munitions containing agent VX was incorrect."

Lt. Col. George Shuplinkov, commander Blue Grass Chemical Activity, claims that the current method is not incorrect and has been verified by many external agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the Army's Chemical Material Agency.

VanWinkle contacted Shuplinkov with the information and a staff meeting was conducted after the employees returned from the conference in Anniston, Ala.

Shuplinkov took employees' advice and is now implementing changes to the air-monitoring system that is about 70 percent complete.

Based on VanWinkle's affidavit, the problem was that a decision had been made at the depot to remove the conversion pads from the inside of the igloos to the outside. Conversion pads are needed in sampling for VX because it is such a heavy molecule and it needs to be converted to another molecule in order for an air sample to travel through the Teflon sampling tube.

"You could do it either way," Shuplinkov said. "Both ways, the workers know what's in the air of the igloo."

Rumors of VanWinkle releasing a statement and getting another agency involved began to circulate and he was suspended from his duties about three weeks ago.

"An internal investigation began and it will conclude in the very near future," Shuplinkov said.

Any employee who works directly with the chemical stockpile is enrolled in the Army's Personal Reliability Program. If suspicious behavior begins or if an ulterior motive is displayed by an employee, he or she suspended from duty while the investigation is conducted.

"It's a program that ensures we only have the best people working with the stockpile," he said. "I think our community demands it, plus, it's an Army regulation."

VX nerve agent is severely lethal and is stored in the form of an amber-colored, oily liquid that is heavier than air and has low volatility unless temperatures are high.

"A minuscule droplet of VX agent produces death in just minutes, so the consequences of an undetected leak could be devastating," said PEER General Counsel Richard Condit, whose organization is representing VanWinkle. "Of equal concern is that the culture at the depot tolerates lapses in monitoring protocol and discourages reports of problems."

According to its Web site, PEER is a national non-profit alliance of local, state and federal scientists, law enforcement officers, land managers and other professionals dedicated to upholding environmental laws and values. Their objectives are as follows:

• Organize a broad base of support among employees within local, state and federal resource management agencies.

• Monitor natural resource management agencies by serving as a "watch dog" for the public interest.

• Inform the administration, Congress, state officials, media and the public about substantive environmental issues of concern to PEER members.

• Defend and strengthen the legal rights of public employees who speak out about issues concerning natural resource management and environmental protection. Free legal assistance is provided if and when it is necessary.

For more information on PEER, visit www.peer.org or call (202) 265-PEER.

"We get credible information and documentation to try and verify things to the best of our ability and hopefully resolve the issue at the facility," Condit said. "Most of the time, we are granted inspections."

Condit sent a letter to L. Jerry Hanson, deputy inspector general for inspections and police at the Pentagon, dated Aug. 24.

In the letter, he requests that an inspection be performed of records maintained focusing on whether the depot has properly monitored and accurately reported the results of it's monitoring system and a review of how often the monitoring equipment is changed our or maintained.

"I'm open for anyone to come down here an inspect my techniques and my monitoring records are open," Shuplinkov said. "The state interprets them all the time. I invite people to come down and look at how we do business.

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