It has been a rough couple of weeks for the Army’s chemical weapons demilitarization program.First we hear that some trace amounts of nerve agent have been released from the Army’s Johnston Island facility, then word comes that an employee at the incinerator in Oregon accidentally took a vial of liquid that contained (again) trace amounts of GB nerve agent home with him.
Now the news is the Alabama Department of Environmental Management is telling the Army it must redo a portion of the surrogate trial burns that took place months ago.
In all three cases, the problem seems to be human error, or in the case of our incinerator, miscommunication.
As usual, we sincerely hope the Army and the contractors will learn from the mistakes that have recently occurred in the South Pacific and in Oregon. As always, we expect this kind of thing never to happen again, especially at the Depot.
As for ADEM’s findings, it is clear that something went astray when the lab (a contractor in California) started analyzing the test data.
ADEM’s objection is that the method used by the California lab was one that drifted from agreed upon procedure. And what is also clear is that if personnel at the lab had communicated with the Army before diverging from the procedure, the Army would have communicated with ADEM and the objections could have been ironed out then. Instead of notifying the Army of the change in procedure, the lab went ahead and did the work. So now, a portion of the surrogate trial burn is in jeopardy and may have to be redone because the samples from the original burn can no longer be used.
It makes little difference at this point that the lab was only undertaking a procedure that would have more precisely defined the results. The fact is, officials at ADEM are not happy with the way it was carried out.
Redoing the burn, of course, will mean that the beginning of the destruction of the stockpile will be moved back. But that is indeed what should be done if ADEM’s concerns are found to be legitimate.
ADEM is not an entity that has met with much praise from this page in the past, given its abysmal performance in this community on the issue of pollution. But if the technicians at ADEM are going over test data with a microscope, then good for them, we should be happy that they are taking the incineration issue seriously.
The Army should insist that ADEM’s concerns rise to a level that would trigger a new surrogate trial burn. If they do, then a new burn should be carried out. And this time, any changes that have to be made in the analysis phase better be communicated with all the parties involved or we’ll be doing this all over again.
