Officials at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky have discovered the source of a nerve agent leak in a containment igloo at the installation, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported yesterday (see GSN, May 27).
In a routine check last week, depot workers found that a small amount of liquid sarin was contaminating the air in one of the igloos in which chemical warfare rockets are stored.
A team was summoned to determine which munition was leaking. The offending rocket was secured in a leak-proof container, along with the two rockets that had been stacked beneath the weapon. Monitoring is planned to ensure there are no other leaking rockets in the storage igloo.
The storage structures at Blue Grass are equipped with air filters that prevent hazardous vapors from escaping into the surrounding environment. In a press release, depot officials said the leak did not jeopardize the health of anyone in the area (Karla Ward, Lexington Herald-Leader, June 3).