Sarin Gas leak at Army Depot

According to reports, the leak is one of 5 reported this year.

Army officials detected a GB vapor leak Monday from an M55 rocket stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County. Inspectors discovered the leak during routine maintenance and monitoring procedures

visz.rsoe.hu...

Sarin, also known by its NATO designation of GB, is an extremely toxic substance whose sole application is as a nerve agent. As a chemical weapon, it is classified as a weapon of mass destruction by the United Nations in UN Resolution 687. Production and stockpiling of sarin was outlawed by the Chemical Weapons Convention of 1993.

en.wikipedia.org...

Operation Swift Solution The Program Manager Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives (PMACWA) initiated Operation Swift Solution to safely eliminate three deteriorating steel containers and wastes associated with the management of these steel containers currently in storage at the Blue Grass Army Depot. These steel containers have also been commonly referred to as "one-ton containers," or simply "ton containers."

www.pmacwa.army.mil...


Could this possibly be the most dangerous threat to our country at this time? It must certainly be up there with the top 10.

If the GB is being stored in vulnerable containers in the State of Kentucky, I cannot help thinking about the possibility of a major earthquake in that region in the near future.



[edit on 2-12-2008 by antar]

Also from the reports on the site linked above, they have only been in possession of the materials since November 17th 2008. In less than one month there is a leak which happens over a Holiday weekend while most of the responsible parties and inspectors are gone for Thanksgiving?

Am I still on ATS? Is there not something wrong with this picture?

reply to post by antar


I had found that, when I researched what was on the New Madrid fault.

It is amazing to me, that they put that toxic dump site right along the fault.

It also has depleated uranium in steel containers which are leaking also.

It is sickening, because if and when there is an earthquake there (because one day there will be - possibly soon) then we won't just be dealing with destruction from the quake the whole U.S. would have to deal with death from the toxic air from those containers bursting!

reply to post by antar


If you look at my threads i support alot of what this country does but, other than haveing small amounts of this stuff to devalope a vaccine i must ask why. I own a gun/s and hope i never have to use them but I would if i had to and fear someday that day will come. I also go to ranges and practice useing them, i've taught my kids how to handle them. What's the point of these weapons. I understand the nukes on Japan, Bio/Chem weapon release.......why. We have enough conventional weapons to take care of these threats.

It scares me because if developed it will be used(Like guns, Bombs, nukes, next bio/chem). Go ahead and quote me on that.

The whole Sarin part would play into the web bot prediction as seen here..

www.abovetopsecret.com...&colorshift=yes

Would explain the vomiting and bowel release if said gas was distributed from a large earthquake.

www.hcphes.org...

A good fact sheet on Sarin symptoms.

[edit on 2-12-2008 by TwiTcHomatic]

CHATS technology will drain the three deteriorating steel containers stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot and transfer their contents into neutralization reactors. Once empty, the containers will be decontaminated, cut in two and recycled

.

Sounds easy enough, however if it was, then why has it been held in these leaking containers since January 13th 1993 when it was made illegal by the CWC?

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction

en.wikipedia.org...

Timeline
The treaty set up several steps with deadlines toward complete destruction of chemical weapons.

Reduction Phases Phase % Reduction Deadline Notes
I 1% April 2000
II 20% April 2002 Complete destruction of empty munitions, precursor chemicals,
filling equipment and weapons systems
III 45% April 2004
IV 100% April 2007 No extensions permitted past April 2012


[edit] Current progress
By July 2007, 33% of known chemical weapons stockpiles had been destroyed worldwide, falling far short of the 100% goal set for in 2007.[9] Furthermore, by April 2008, only 50% of countries had passed the required legislation to outlaw participation in chemical weapons production[10]. By December 31, 2007, 36.5% of Class 1, 52% of Class 2 and all Class 3 declared chemicals had been destroyed.[11]

Albania: On 11 July 2007, the OPCW confirmed the destruction of the entire chemical weapons stockpile in Albania. Albania is the first nation to completely destroy all of its chemical weapons under the terms of the CWC.[11] The Albanian stockpile included 16,678 kilograms of mustard agent, lewisite, adamsite, and chloroacetophenone. The United States assisted with and funded the destruction operations.[12]
A State Party: The unspecified "state party" had destroyed 96.3% of its stockpile by the end of 2007 and is expected to finish the process by the end of 2008.[11]
India: 93.1% of India's chemical weapons stockpile was destroyed by the end of 2007 and India is expected to finish destruction by April 2009.[11]
Libya: Libya's entire chemical weapons stockpile is expected to be destroyed by 2011[11]
U.S.A.: The United States of America completed Phase III in June 2007, having destroyed over 50.7% of its declared stockpile by December 31, 2007.[11] Over 66% of the chemical weapons destroyed in the world since the treaty came into force were destroyed in the U.S. The United States General Accounting Office has announced it does not expect the United States to complete its campaign until 2014, after the treaty's final deadline. The Pentagon, in late 2006, announced that it expected disposal of the U.S. stockpile to not be completed until 2023.[13]
Russia: Russia had destroyed 24% of its stockpile by the end of 2007.[9][11] Russia completed Phase II in 2007 and had received extensions on the remaining phases. The United States General Accounting Office has announced it does not expect Russia to reach 100% destruction until 2027; however, Russia has declared its intention to complete operations by the treaty deadline of 2012.[11]

[edit] Financing
Financial support for the Albanian and Libyan stockpile destruction programmes was provided by the United States. Russia received support from a number of nations, including the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Canada; some $2 billion given by 2004. Costs for Albania's program were approximately 48 million U.S. dollars. The U.S. had spent $20 billion and expected to spend a further $40 billion.[9]

en.wikipedia.org...

What more can you say? Obviously US and Russia refuse or are unable to comply with the deadlines and in fact plan to sustain these weapons of mass destruction until well after the 2027 date.

How many accidents will have to happen before the treaty is realized for the full extent of its necessity? How many accidents can safely happen before millions die from a catastrophe of monumental proportions?

How will our Governments handle such a crisis? One clue I received was from the same site in the Op, a site I have frequented for several years has changed its codes to adapt to a couple of interesting new angles on global information networking these include such areas as the following:

Geomagnetic Storm Monitoring:
Geomagnetic Storms
Radio Magnetic Storms
Blackouts

You may may wonder why I see a connection to these types of events and the situation with our worldwide problem of decommissioning of elements of weapons of mass destruction, well if we do get hit and it is apparent our systems are being set online to deal with these future challenges, then what safety precautions are being made and met to insure our protection?

What happens when even generator power has interference from geomagnetic influences beyond our control?

And why are two main superpowers the ones left holding the majority of the worlds worst waste? Is this a way of insuring that they maintain it while reporting that it is being disposed of? Or did they agree to take the waste from the countries that they supported financially to do so?

reply to post by anotherdad


It is not that these Sarin agents are being developed, they are trying to get rid of them, but with over 157 gallons of the stuff, it is a process which takes obviously an incredible amount of time. In the meanwhile, the agent eats away at it's containers.

It is good that you are aware and teaching your children to be wise and care for family and home, if an accident does happen from New Madrid or other, civil unrest could happen very fast and your skills would be needed for a period of time.

reply to post by TwiTcHomatic


I saw that thread and was wondering the same thing. I can only pray that we do not have to face this type of event. So many terrible threads about what the higher ups are saying, hinting at, if we find out this was known and even perpetuated upon us, God help the perpera/traitors, there will be civil unrest and you know I think even the Military would join us when they see their own being treated worse than anything Saddam ever did to his people.

reply to post by questioningall


I do recall agreeing with you on your discovery, it was shocking.

The RSOE EDIS site states that the incident is listed as "minor" at this time.

Let's hope & pray it is remedied ASAP however.

Link:hisz.rsoe.hu...
hisz.rsoe.hu...

Just wanted to report that as of this morning there has been no situation updates that I can find. Does anyone else have any information about the depot and the progress of clearing up the leak? Thanks.

as i pulled out of the google map, i realized actually how big the army depot is. if a quake hit near there, it looks like it will release alot more then just a couple ton barrels. that base has a massive amount of underground bunkers. just take a look around. who knows what else is there in large quantities. goodbye lexington

Right you are and the local population is somewhere around 810k.

I dont know that they would all be doomed, but they would get very sick from it and of course the most vulnerable would be in grave danger from dehydration and upper respiratory problems.

Here is what happened in 1995 when small packets of liquid sarin was released in a Toykyo subway. This article states that even a pinsized drop of the compound can kill an adult...

On Monday 20 March 1995, five members of Aum Shinrikyo
Aum Shinrikyo


Aum Shinrikyo was a Japanese Buddhist religious group created by Shoko Asahara....
launched a chemical attack on the Tokyo Metro
Tokyo Metro


is one of two metro systems that make up the Tokyo subway system. ...
, one of the world's busiest commuter transport systems
List of rapid transit systems

This is an alphabetical list of cities worldwide that have a rapid transit system, or a light-rail system with some elements...
, at the peak of the morning rush hour
Rush hour


A rush hour is a part of the day with busy traffic and hence traffic congestion on the roads and crowded public transport; n...
. The chemical agent used, liquid sarin
Sarin Summary


Sarin, also known by its NATO designation of GB is an extremely toxic substance whose sole application is as a nerve ...
, was contained in plastic bags which each team then wrapped in newspaper. Each perpetrator carried two packets of sarin totaling approximately 900 millilitres of sarin, except Yasuo Hayashi, who carried three bags. A single drop of sarin the size of a pinhead can kill an adult.

www.absoluteastronomy.com...

[edit on 3-12-2008 by antar]

Oh one other point, why would they keep this sarin in the M55Rocket? Is that not a bad sign?

Congress has mandated a deadline of December 31, 2004, for disposal of the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. On January 23, 1995, the Army released a report to the public on the remaining storage life of the M55 rockets in the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile. As part of the Chemical Stockpile Disposal Program, the Army has performed several hazard analyses and risk assessments of continued storage of chemical munitions, including this recent study on M55 rocket propellant stability. These studies were conducted to determine if degradation of munitions and their contents could contribute to an increased risk to the public. The results indicate that the rockets can be safely stored until they are required to be disposed of by the congressionally-mandated deadline.

I recommend this article:
www.fas.org...

So was the deadline for disposal near the 2004 date because of the health risk to humans? Is this part of the reason we are seeing so many leaks from the containers?

Here is a Google link to the affected area, you may also see the surrounding areas which would be immediatly affected. Also note that the red circle denoting it has not been taken off the danger list as of today, 3 days later. This looks bad.

visz.rsoe.hu...


[edit on 3-12-2008 by antar]

All of this stuff in the depot has been decommissioned and stored until disposal can take place. The gases themselves are stored in giant concrete bunkers that are so air tight that an outside leak is almost impossible.

The new governor here in Kentucky has commissioned some money to start disposing of a lot of the chemical weapons stored there. Unfortunately it's very expensive, very dangerous, and very time consuming. It will happen eventually though.

I live mere minutes away from the depot, and it doesn't scare me in the least.

reply to post by nyk537


Welcome aboard, glad to have your insight, question, why is Kentucky and your tax dollars going to pay for the storage and disposal of these WMD's?

Many other places do as well.

BGAD only stores about two percent of the United States chemical weapons stockpile. So it really isn't that much.

I'd rather have them locked up in those bunkers where I know there safe than some other alternatives.

Here is one of the bunkers where they are stored.



Igloos are made of concrete, are 80 feet long, 25 feet wide and 15 feet high with 2 feet of earth covering them.