Kentucky Weapons Depot Cited for Violations

A U.S. Army chemical weapons depot in Kentucky has been charged with improperly storing chemical warfare agents and other violations, according to news from Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER).

The Blue Grass Army Depot, located about 30 miles south of Lexington, was cited for numerous violations by the Kentucky Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP also said it has evidence of depot activities "considered of a potentially criminal nature," and has forwarded that information to both the criminal investigations arm of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Kentucky inspector general.

A Kentucky DEP site inspection report found that some rockets containing chemical agents were being improperly stored by crushing some shells and causing leaks. It further cited the depot for not adequately testing spills from stored rockets and for failing to make sure employees had the training needed to prevent the release of chemical warfare agents.

The Blue Grass depot stores more than 500 tons of chemical weapons material, including nerve gas. The agents are kept in storage units called igloos.

A federal criminal grand jury has already been inspecting Blue Grass for violations. Past and present employees -- including chemists, technicians and security agents -- also have filed whistleblower complaints alleging that depot officials routinely transfer or blackball those who raise concerns about practices at the facility.

Following its inspection, the Kentucky DEP forwarded information to those other investigators indicating that Blue Grass employees might have been exposed to nerve agents without their knowledge and that depot managers alter monitoring reports or turn off monitoring equipment to hide safety problems.

"This report appears to vindicate the whistleblowers even while leaving many very troubling questions unresolved," said Jeff Ruch, executive director of PEER, which is representing the depot whistleblowers. "People who report problems do not stay long at Blue Grass."

PEER noted that the Kentucky DEP report wasn't able to address some of the other complaints that have been raised by Blue Grass whistleblowers. These include allegations that the depot doesn't properly check for chemical agents in wastewater flushed from the storage igloos, and that air monitors inside the igloos were configured to be ineffective.

"Congress needs to step in and look at whether these chemical weapon depots are being managed competently," Ruch said.

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, "State Charges Army Chemical Weapons Depot with Violations." URL: (http://www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=942)