Chemical Weapons News July 27

Army Admits Nerve Gas Leak Detectors in Kentucky Did Not Work for Two Years – AllGov News
Proper storage of deadly nerve gas agents at military facilities requires the use of monitoring devices to ensure the protection of base personnel and local communities from possible leaks. But the operators of the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky allowed such leak detectors to be removed from underground igloos…

Umatilla Reports Mustard Agent Leak – Global Security Newswire
Workers as the U.S. Army’s Umatilla Chemical Depot in Oregon on Tuesday detected a mustard agent leak in a storage unit…

Rotary Club gets the facts about Pine Bluff Arsenal – Bill Shrum – The Stuttgart Daily Leader
Cheryl Avery, a Stuttgart resident and public affairs officer, Regina Smith, community outreach chemical disposal administrator and Raini Brunson, public affairs officer for the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility were guests of the Stuttgart Rotary Club of the Stuttgart Country Club at noon Tuesday…

NKorea ‘Tests Weapons on Children’ – Steve ChaoAl Jazeera or Military.com
But among the accounts they carried with them is one of the most shocking yet to emerge – namely the use of humans, specifically mentally or physically handicapped children, to test North Korea’s biological and chemical weapons…

Continued Commitment Needed on U.S. Chemical Disarmament, OPCW Chief Says – Chris Schneidmiller – Global Security Newswire
A leading international nonproliferation official is urging the United States not to retreat from providing sufficient funds to accelerate the complete elimination of the U.S. stockpile of chemical weapons…

Advocacy Group Calls for Leadership Shifts at Blue Grass Depot – Global Security Newswire
An advocacy group hopes to see senior officials ousted at a U.S. Army chemical weapons storage facility in Kentucky following an improper relocation of equipment used for detecting potentially dangerous leaks of VX nerve agent…

Chemical Weapons in Baltic Sea Remain a Threat, Lithuania Says – Global Security Newswire
Lithuania on Monday called for continued attention to the danger posed by chemical weapons dumped decades ago in the Baltic Sea…

N.O.A.A Studies Ocean Currents off West Oahu – Brooks Baehr – KGMB9 News
A study of ocean currents at two munitions disposal sites off the West coast of Oahu is about to begin. The studies are being done so scientists know where the currents go in case the discarded weapons release contaminants into the water…

Army: Agent monitoring system was inoperative – Ronica Shannon – The Richmond Register
Chemical weapons stockpiled at the Blue Grass Army Depot went two years without being monitored, according to a report released Monday by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER)…

Faulty monitoring cited at Ky. weapons depot – Jeff McMurray – The Associated Press, Kentucky.com
An Army inspector general’s report concludes that a Kentucky chemical weapons stockpile was inadequately monitored for a deadly nerve agent for two years, although the report found no evidence that any workers were exposed or that any agent escaped the storage igloos into the atmosphere…

Army Criticizes CW Oversight Practice at Blue Grass Depot – Global Security Newswire
The U.S. Army inspector general found that officials at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky for two years impaired monitoring of air quality in chemical weapons storage units…

Kentucky Chemical Weapons Leak Detectors Dysfunctional for Years – Environmental News Service
The U.S. Army has acknowleged that the nerve gas leak monitors at a Kentucky chemical weapons storage depot were not working for nearly two years, 2003-2005. The admission is contained in a U.S. Army Inspector General report dated February 2006 but released today…