Published: Saturday, September 9, 2006
Crews at an old chemical weapons site add
safety and security measures after tainted soil sent workers to the
hospital, halting cleanup
TULALIP - Crews are beefing up protective measures at an old chemical weapons storage site on the Tulalip Indian Reservation because they still don't know what they'll uncover when they return to excavate in October.
Workers were sent to the hospital after digging last month uncovered soil laced with mustard gas residue and damaged cylinders that may have once contained phosgene and chlorine.
The chemicals were used as weapons beginning in World War I. They were tested and disposed of at the Tulalip military site beginning in 1942.
The discovery is being watched closely by state Rep. John McCoy, D-Tulalip, who also is general manager of Quil Ceda Village. The site is located less than a mile west of the Tulalips' retail center.
One of the old chemical containers appears ruptured, McCoy said. He said he suspects the damage might be from explosives.
"It took something to damage it," he said. "It didn't just happen."
Crews have not found any bombs buried with the containers, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers spokesman Steve Cosgrove said.
He could not confirm whether any of the containers had ever been damaged by military explosives.
Digging stopped at the site Aug. 15, when crews uncovered old vials from test kits used for chemical warfare training, Cosgrove said.
That same day, workers noticed an unusual odor, and one complained that his eyes were stinging.
"We don't know what the unusual odor was," Cosgrove said.
The workers were hospitalized and released later that day.
The military stored tear gas, hydrogen cyanide and cyanogen chloride at the site, along with a liquid form of mustard gas, chlorine and phosgene, according to the Corps.
According to a presentation made by the Corps to the Tulalip Tribes, crews have uncovered a rusted 55-gallon chemical agent drum, nearly two dozen other smaller drums and broken glass. Volatile chemical agents have been detected in the air, and there is contaminated soil.
Crews also found a block of dynamite that was most likely left over from a logging project, Cosgrove said.
Cosgrove said it's typical to uncover mustard gas residue at old military storage and disposal sites, and that nothing unusual has occurred during the cleanup.
He also said that the cost of the project has doubled due to findings at the site. The increased measures will cost up to $2 million.
The two-month break in the cleanup is needed so crews can boost security and protection for workers, he said.
The Corps is asking for the additional cleanup money from the federal Department of Defense.
Until the project resumes, the site will be covered with protective tents, he said. Security guards were hired to police the site.
The federal government claimed more than 2,000 acres of Tulalip land during World War II to use for weapons storage and training. The site was decommissioned in 1947 and then used again during the Korean War. Crews started the cleanup work in May.
Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or kkapralos@heraldnet.com.