Deseret Chemical Depot Begins Container Sampling

Sampling of bulk containers filled with mustard blister agent began Tuesday at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah to identify those holding foreign materials, the U.S. Army Chemical Material Agency announced (see GSN Jan. 6).

Sampling is due to last up to three years while experts check 6,400 containers for mercury and solid materials. The containers, each holding about 1,800 pounds of chemical agent, have been stored for decades at the depot located 60 miles southwest of Salt Lake City.

Container and agent processing is scheduled to start this summer at the Tooele Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Tanks with little mercury or solid material are expected to be eliminated first. “Sampling operations will allow individual bulk containers … to be categorized for later disposal,” according to a CMA press release.

While the cause of the mercury contamination not known, there is speculation that mustard agent was placed in some containers that were not clean (U.S. Army Chemical Material Agency release, June 6).

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