Generations later, US destroys its mustard gas

DESERET CHEMICAL DEPOT, Utah, Sep 1: As Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan laid waste to Europe and Asia in World War II, the United States ramped up production of mustard gas to respond to any chemical attack.

The Allies never used the weapons that inflicted so much suffering during World War I, but America kept them throughout the Cold War as a deterrent.

''Thank goodness it wasn't used actively during World War II,'' said Col Frederick Pellissier, custodian of the ageing stockpile as the commander of the Deseret Chemical Depot.

''It served its purpose as a deterrent.'' Only in August did the United States start to destroy the deadly mustard gas now outlawed by international treaty. The Army facility incinerates it at the well-guarded desert complex, which was home to 45 percent of the US chemical weapons stockpile before destruction began a decade ago.

Eight other US sites stored chemical weapons and are also destroying bombs, missiles, mines and other chemical munitions. At Deseret, 96 km (60 miles) southwest of Salt Lake City, the weapons are buried below truncated pyramid-shaped mounds.

Much of the round-the-clock process of removing explosive fuses, draining and then incinerating liquid chemical agents is automated.

But workers in fully enclosed protective chemical suits regularly enter potentially deadly areas to repair, update and clean.

On a recent day, Rod Hollum, 51, and Nick Crosby, 27, donned masks, backpacks with an eight-minute back-up air supply and white, vinyl suits fully sealed against the air but linked to outside oxygen.

WILD THINGS

The costumes recall the white animal suit worn by the character Max in Maurice Sendak's children's story, ''Where the Wild Things Are,'' except the men look out through large, transparent vinyl windows.

''You're encapsulated inside,'' said Marc McLaws, a worker who helped Hollum and Crosby suit up.

''Some people get claustrophobic,'' he added. ''Heat stress is a problem. You're constantly sweating. You can lose six or seven pounds over the two hours.'' Before the two enter the area of potential exposure, they receive a briefing. ''We either stirred something up, you guys did cleaning, or there is something,'' the briefer said about a hose leaking mustard agent. ''Be extremely careful.''

In Deseret's decade of chemical destruction, only one man was exposed to a small amount of chemical agent in 2002, said medical director Gary Matravers. He suffered blurred vision but was back at work the next day. ''This is a safe environment; now if we had an explosion, that would be different,'' he said. About 1,500 people, all but two civilians, work here.

Being completely sealed in vinyl poses other risks. Half a year ago, one suited worker suffered a heart attack. ''We had to cut him out,'' said McLaws. Tearing through the single-use, 5 suit took three minutes. ''It was a good result though: he lived.''

BEHIND SCHEDULE

The United States, which had the second largest chemical stockpile after Russia, is moving far more cautiously in destroying them than envisioned in a treaty that entered into force in 1997. The pact set a 2007 deadline, but earlier this year Washington asked for an extension until 2012.

''If everything had processed as quickly as we expected, we'd probably be finished right now,'' Pellissier said. ''If it becomes a safety issue for either the workforce or the public, I'm less concerned about the treaty requirements.'' Within three days of opening in 1996, the plant closed for checks after a nerve gas leak, and any whiff of danger since then has delayed the processing.

''We would have gone faster but for the controls, the oversight conditions,'' said Thaddeus Ryba, the disposal site project manager. ''It has extended the process.'' Also, ''conditions of munitions and the agents weren't what the Army thought it was,'' he continued. ''Things don't come apart as easily.'' Since starting the process in August 1996, the facility has already destroyed VX and other highly toxic nerve agents.

It did not destroy any chemical weapons for 14 months ending in August as it revamped to process mustard gas. One problem is the presence of mercury in some of the mustard gas, which is closely monitored.

''We're very concerned,'' said Dianne Nielson, executive director of Utah's Department of Environmental Quality. ''We are concerned in the context that we are watchful ... making sure they follow through and manage the destruction.'' The Healthy Environment Alliance of Utah complains of safety shortcomings and says incineration is not as safe as the chemical process of neutralisation. ''There hasn't been a culture of safety at the chemical weapons facility,'' said the group's director, Vanessa Pierce.

Ryba counters that only a very small amount of dioxins emerge from the facility's exhaust stacks. ''I'm a government bureaucrat, but I wouldn't put my family at risk,'' he said.

REUTERS