March 22, 2000
The Army's nerve-gas incinerator in Tooele County has been rocked by a tale of
secret documents,
code names, and
allegations of frightening safety problems.
But the central figure claims he and the plant have been framed by a pile of forged documents.
STEVE JONES: "WHOEVER'S TRYING TO PORTRAY ME AS A MOLE, AT LEAST PORTRAY ME AS A SMART MOLE! DON'T PORTRAY ME AS A DUMB ONE!"
Environment Specialist John Hollenhorst has details on this remarkable story.
KSL TV and the Deseret News obtained these documents, which were purportedly smuggled out of the plant by the Chief Safety Officer, Steve Jones. He denies it.
If you take it all at face value, it suggests a frightening pattern of safety problems at the incinerator.
But Jones, and the rest of officialdom say that's a bogus portrait.
STEVE JONES: "MY FEELING IS THAT I'VE BEEN SET UP FOR A LONG TIME. AND I'M NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS."
Steve Jones wants the world, and his employers, to believe he's not a spy.
He's chief safety officer inside the incinerator complex where the Army is destroying munitions loaded with nerve agent.
This is Jones' second crack at the job with EG&G, the company that runs the incinerator for the Army. EG&G fired him in 1994, supposedly for pushing too hard on safety issues. He joined the opposition. A network of incinerator critics used him as a paid consultant, and he spoke coast to coast, preaching the perils of incineration.
After a long legal battle, a judge ruled Jones was entitled to whistleblower protection and orderd EG&G to rehire him with back pay.
A few weeks ago, the incinerator's most famous critic went public on KSL, saying his bosses had turned everything around.
STEVE JONES/JAN. 13, 2000: "THIS IS AN ABSOLUTELY SAFE PLANT."
CHIP WARD/INCINERATOR CRITIC: "HE WAS SAYING ONE THING PUBLICLY, AND TELLING US QUITE A DIFFERENT STORY BEHIND THE SCENES."
Jones' former allies say his public comments forced their hand. They released a pile of material which they say Jones sent them in batches from last August through January, sometimes using his own return-address.
There are numerous internal documents, a poor-quality videotape of a controversial process, and voluminous handwritten commentaries.
Signed "Steve," or code-name "Cougar," the commentaries claim employee exposures to nerve-agent, repeated releases to the atmosphere, a building hobbled by cracked concrete and deteriorated seals. And proceses that simply don't work as designed.
'Cougar' wrote, "Incineration is a failed technology."
CHIP WARD/INCINERATION CRITIC: "WHAT YOU'VE GOT BASICALLY IS, THEY'RE WAY OUTSIDE THEIR INTENDED DESIGN. AND THEY'RE EXPERIMENTING. AND THIS IS AN EXPERIMENT THAT'S UNCONTROLLED, THEY'RE DESPERATELY TRYING TO COVER IT UP BECAUSE IT'S GOING BADLY. AND ITS DANGEROUS."
STEVE JONES/CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER: "LOOKS VERY MUCH LIKE MY HANDWRITING."
Jones says he didn't write it, doesn't agree with it and didn't mail it. He says it's a complete forgery and suggests it was done by his former allies.
STEVE JONES/CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER: "THEY HAVE TO CONTINUE TO PORTRAY THAT THE PLANT IS NOT SAFE TO GET FUNDING."
'Cougar' had intimate knowledge about the plant, access to many internal documents, and awareness of private management discussions. Critics say they know it was Jones because they discussed the mailings with him on the phone. They say he's lying now to protect his job.
He suggests his former allies are using lies and forgery to make incineration appear unsafe.
STEVE JONES/CHIEF SAFETY OFFICER: "MY BELIEF IS THAT IT CAN BE DONE SAFELY, AND WE ARE DOING IT SAFELY."
Jones' bosses have launched an investigation.
JACK MADDOX/DEPUTY GENERAL MANAGER: "EG&G HAS NO REASON AT THIS TIME TO DOUBT HIS CREDIBILITY AND WE STAND BEHIND STEVE IN THIS MATTER."
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