Previous Stories on Nerve Agent Leak
July 17, 2000
The Army says it hopes to have its chemical weapons incinerator up and running by the end of the week.
The facility was shut down two months ago because of what the Army described as the first ever release of nerve agent from that plant.
Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst reports.
Sixty-seven things needed fixing. That was the bottom line from several investigations. Sixty-seven modifications of incinerator hardware, software and peopleware to help insure nerve gas doesn't get out again.
At a public open-house jammed with incinerator employees, the Army said most of the 67 modifications have already been made.
COL. CHRIS LESNIAK/PROGRAM MANAGER: "ONE OF THE THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO WAS TO RETRAIN OUR PEOPLE. THE OTHER THINGS THAT WE NEEDED TO DO WAS TO DO SOME COMPUTER MODIFICATION, COMPUTER ENHANCEMENTS, AS WELL AS PUT IN AN ISOLATION VALVE IN OUR DEACTIVATION FURNACE."
In fact, computers now can override operator error, at least until supervisors review the computer's decisions.
Several human errors were made that night, partly because the Control Room operator was inexperienced and was actually undergoing On The Job Training in the middle of a crisis. The Army now plans a simulator.
COL. CHRIS LESNIAK/PROGRAM MANAGER: "MOST OF OUR ON-THE-JOB TRAINING WILL OCCUR IN THE SIMULATOR. THE CONTROL ROOM OPERATIONS WILL ALWAYS BE WITH CERTIFIED INDIVDUALS."
JOHN HOLLENHORST REPORTING: "THAT TINY RELEASE ON MAY 8TH HAS RESULTED IN A BIG WALLOP TO THE TAXPAYERS' WALLET. THE COST OF FIXING EVERYTHING IS ABOUT 1- TO 2-MILLION DOLLARS. AND THE LONG-TERM COST FROM THE SHUTDOWN: 10- TO 20-MILLION DOLLARS."
A necessary cost, the Army says, to make sure the plant is safe. But critics are unconvinced.
CINDY KING/SIERRA CLUB: "THIS FACILITY IS RIDDLED WITH FAULT, OF PROBLEMS. THIS QUICK-FIX BANDAID WILL NOT ADDRESS IT. THIS IS MERELY A P.R. B.S. LINE."
The Army wants state permission to re-open two of three furnaces this week. The troubled deactivation furnace may be idle for several more weeks.
The army plans another public open house tomorrow night at the Utah Department of Environmental Quality, in Salt Lake City.
