Figures for the storage of lethal nerve agents at bases around the United States do not match accountings for disposal of the material, creating a small chance that some might be lost, the Deseret (Utah) News reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 5).
A U.S. Army Audit Agency report indicates that officials believe the material was eliminated rather than missing.
However, "The (Army Chemical Materials) Agency didn't have complete assurance that amounts recorded in the system were accurate, which increased its chances for heightened levels of program scrutiny by federal, state and international organizations that have a vested interest in the elimination of chemical weapons," according to the document obtained by the newspaper through a Freedom of Information Act request.
The intent of the audit was "to determine whether the agency accounted for destroyed chemical agents" at seven U.S. chemical weapons storage sites.
While it generally lauded the bases' accounting, the report said the figures for storage of nerve agent in bulk containers did not line up with destruction figures.
"They did not have effective procedures in place to ensure amounts destroyed were accurately recorded in the (electronic recording) system. Consequently, CMA didn't have complete assurance that amounts recorded in the system were accurate," the report said.
The redacted version of the report did not indicate all the specific storage depots at which problems were found, but the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah was among that group, the News reported.
The depots should develop databases for recording disposal figures and quickly addressing any accounting problems, auditors said. The Chemical Materials Agency said it accepted the auditors' findings and would make the recommended fixes unless they necessitated amendments to international agreements.
The Chemical Weapons Convention requires destruction of the full U.S. chemical arsenal by April 2012. Pentagon officials have acknowledged that the United States will miss the deadline by several years (Lee Davidson, Deseret News, Feb. 8).
Meanwhile, the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky has temporarily suspended the final phase of a project to destroy sarin nerve agent in three containers, the Richmond Register reported Friday.
A recent ice storm that hit the region forced the suspension, officials said.
“Safety was the No. 1 consideration in the decision to halt operations,” said Johnnie Allen, civilian executive assistant at Blue Grass Chemical Activity. “The extended period of area-wide power outages, hazardous road conditions on the installation and unavailability of appropriate support personnel and facilities severely impacted the team’s ability to safely perform the mission, and the operation was therefore temporarily suspended.”
A nerve agent leak from one bulk container led the Defense Department to order destruction of three tanks. Operations began in November. The warfare material itself had been chemically neutralized and the project had moved on to disposal of waste material produced by the process.
Work is now expected to be completed no later than early next month (Ronica Shannon, Richmond Register, Feb. 6).