-Caveat Lector-
http://www.apbnews.com/newscenter/breakingnews/2000/11/22/bombs1122_01.html
Nerve Gas Bombs Found at Military Site
Army Discovers Cache During Chemical Plant Cleanup
Nov. 22, 2000
By Keith Coffman
DENVER (APBnews.com) -- Six grapefruit-size bombs believed to contain the deadly nerve
gas sarin have been uncovered at a former military arsenal that is being converted
into a wildlife refuge, authorities said.
U.S. Army officials who are overseeing the cleanup at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal,
about 10 miles northeast of downtown Denver, said the "bomblets" were found more than
two miles from the nearest home and pose no public health threat.
"We have two major goals right now. The first is to identify the bomblets that exist
in the area, and the second is to continue working with the state on the approval and
implementation of a safe destruction plan," said Charles Scharmann, the Army's program
manager for the arsenal.
$2 billion cleanup
The arsenal is an Environmental Protection Agency Superfund site. The $2 billion
cleanup project began in 1996 and is expected to take another 10 to 15 years.
Crews found the first suspected bomb Oct. 16, said Army spokeswoman Ruth Mecham. She
said since the first discovery, army munitions experts have been inspecting the site
and have found five more undetonated bombs, the latest one on Monday.
So far, just one of the bombs has been confirmed to contain sarin. State health
department officials have ordered the bombs to remain under 24-hour guard and not to
be moved until authorities come up with a plan to dispose of the chemical agent, said
Howard Roitman, director of Colorado's hazardous waste division.
Used in Tokyo attack
Sarin is a lethal chemical agent that causes respiratory arrest in humans when inhaled
or ingested. Sarin was used in the 1995 terrorist attack on a Tokyo subway that killed
a dozen people.
The bombs are softball-size spheres containing liquid sarin and a small explosive
charge that were manufactured at the arsenal's on-site chemical weapons plant between
1952 and 1957.
The arsenal was built in 1942 on 27 square miles of land purchased by the Army in what
was then remote countryside. World War II military planners sought to have a weapons
factory located far inland to minimize possible enemy attacks that would most likely
be launched along U.S. coastlines.
During its peak production period, from World War II to several years following the
end of the Korean War, the plant churned out a number of chemical weapons, including
sarin, mustard gas, white phosphorous and napalm. Shell Chemical Co. leased a portion
of the site and manufactured agricultural pesticides at the arsenal from 1952 until
1982, when production of all chemicals ceased.
Chemicals seep into groundwater
Over the years, a host of problems have surfaced with the operation of the arsenal. In
the late 1950s, chemicals leached into the water table beneath the arsenal, causing
crop damage to area farmers who used the groundwater for irrigation. In the 1960s,
workers pumped chemical waste two miles beneath the arsenal, setting off thousands of
minor earthquakes and tremors. The quakes subsided when the Army agreed to stop the
underground disposals.
Once the cleanup is completed, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will take over
management of the refuge. Portions of the sprawling site have been open to the public
for wildlife viewing, but sightseeing tours were halted with the discovery of the
suspected nerve gas.
The high-plains wetland is home to some 300 wildlife species, including mule deer,
nesting bald eagles and other raptors, coyotes, foxes and their primary quarry,
prairie dogs.
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