More Mustard Leaking at Blue Grass

Mustard gas is leaking in a second storage igloo at the Blue Grass Army Depot in Kentucky, the Lexington Herald-Leader reported today (see GSN, July 21).

The Army announced the leak yesterday.

Workers discovered an earlier leak on July 19. Efforts to find the leaking munition are being hampered by the summer temperatures.

“In today’s heat, you can only stay in those [rubber safety] garments for about 10 minutes,” said depot spokesman Richard Sloan.

Leaking munitions will be placed in sealed containers once found. Storage igloos are designed to prevent chemical agent from escaping, meaning there is no danger to local residents, according to the Army.

There have been an average of two leaks annually at the depot. However, five M55 rockets were found to be leaking sarin in May and June of this year, the Herald-Leader reported (Lexington Herald-Leader, Aug. 8).

Meanwhile, workers at the Pine Bluff Arsenal in Arkansas on Thursday found the M55 rocket that was leaking small amounts of sarin, the Associated Press reported. The leak was discovered on July 28.  The rocket is set to be placed in a sealed container and moved to another storage igloo (Associated Press, Aug. 6).

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