Utah Incinerator, 1st Live Leak

[KEFWILLI@ACS.EKU.EDU]

CHEMICAL WEAPONS WORKING GROUP 
P.O. Box 467, Berea, Kentucky 40403
Phone: (606) 986-7565 Fax: (606) 986-2695

for more information contact: 
Craig Williams: (606)-986-7565 or Cindy King (801) 468-9848

for immediate release: August 25, 1996 

UTAH CHEMICAL WEAPONS INCINERATOR SHUT DOWN AFTER LESS THAN
72 HOURS AFTER START UP DUE TO AGENT ALARMS

 Berea, Kentucky-- Less than 72 hours after beginning
operations, the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal System
(TOCDF), the Army's first U.S. incinerator for burning
chemical weapons, was forced to shut down due to agent
alarms sometime Saturday afternoon. Agent was detected in
the charcoal filter system, a contained area outside the
plant.

 In a press release, issued Sunday the 25th, the Army
claimed that events of this type were "anticipated" as part
of the shakedown process. 

 Craig Williams, spokesperson for the Chemical Weapons
Working Group, a coalition of citizens groups from all the
sites where such weapons are stored said, " This is the type
of agent migration problem we brought to the Court. The
Army told the Judge, just weeks ago, that such problems were
addressed in the processes leading up to live agent burns. 
Now they say it was "anticipated," that is not what they
told the Judge."

 During a motion for an injunction to block start-up in
Federal Court in August, the Army claimed that these
problems had been worked out of the system based on their
experience at the two prototype facilities in Utah and the
Pacific. They also presented statements indicating that
"systemization" undergone at TOCDF insured secure operations
of the facility. Systemization includes operating the
facility with no warfare agent by burning less toxic
materials in preparation for the live agent, to insure the
reliability of the system once agent is introduced. The
CWWG questioned the adequacey of these preparations. 

 "On Thursday the Army public relations folks were plying
the media with milk, cookies and propaganda about how
reliable TOCDF was," said Williams, "now their trying to
have us believe this incident was "anticipated." 

 Cindy King of the Utah Sierra Club, commenting on
Saturday's incident said, "it appears that only body bags
will convince the Court or the Utah regulatory authorities
to halt TOCDF, at least until our full case is heard." 

 The Army claimed no agent escaped into the environment. 

 "With the recent Pentagon acknowledgment concerning Gulf
Vets Syndrome, that they don't know the health effects of
low-level agent exposure, admitting to an atmospheric
release only days after starting up TOCDF would have been a
"show-stopper". One fact is undeniable, the system didn't
function for even 72 hours after the unveiling," noted
Williams.

 --30--
Copies of the Army's Press Release are available from CWWG.