3 members of Congress urge more chemical weapons safety
Blue Grass depot's leaks spur letter

BY TOM LOFTUS • TLOFTUS@COURIER-JOURNAL.COM • JULY 26, 2008l

Repeated leaks of the nerve agent sarin from a storage container at the Blue Grass Army Depot near Richmond have prompted a call for enhanced safety from three members of Kentucky's congressional delegation.

U.S. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Jim Bunning, both Republicans, and U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler, D-6th District, co-signed a letter sent Thursday to Conrad Whyne, director of the U.S. Army Chemical Materials Agency.

The letter expressed their "deep concern regarding these repeated chemical agent leaks."

Routine monitoring on July 11 detected that vapors of sarin had leaked from the same container where a much more serious leak occurred in August 2007.

Richard Sloan, public affairs officer for Blue Grass Chemical Activity in Richmond, said on July 11 that monitors detected "very minuscule readings" of leaking sarin vapor outside the container but that it was not detected outside a plastic sheet that surrounds the container.

In August 2007 about a gallon of liquid leaked from the same container into a pan below it.

Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, said yesterday that "the August 2007 incident was the biggest incident they've had out at that facility that we know about. The one on July 11 was minuscule. And that's because of the measures that have been taken since the August of 2007 incident."

Those measures include continuous monitoring of the storage igloo where the sarin is stored.

Sloan said yesterday that since July 11 all eight plugs on the container have been resealed.

"We sealed up the one we thought was leaking, and we sealed the rest of them as a safety measure," he said. "The situation is totally under control. The community is perfectly safe; there was no risk to the community by this leak."

In their letter, McConnell, Bunning and Chandler said that they appreciate the precautions so far but asked that "all possible steps be taken to prevent harm to the Chemical Activity work force, Blue Grass Army Depot employees and the general public."

They specifically asked that the agency overseeing the facility:

Conduct a review of "quality control/assurance measures" associated with stockpile safety.

Develop "a more robust communications capability" between the facility and the public.

Expand monitoring within igloos -- some of which are now monitored once a week.

Provide a detailed accounting and report on federal funds provided to improve monitoring at the facility.

Reporter Tom Loftus can be reached at (502) 875-5136.