Chemical Vials Found in Oklahoma Wildlife Refuge

Authorities in Oklahoma found several vials of an unidentified chemical after a Boy Scout accidentally broke one container open in a wildlife refuge, the Associated Press reported yesterday (see GSN, March 5).

The boy was exposed to a yellow liquid contained in one vial while he was digging Saturday in a crystal formation, according to Salt Plains National Wildlife Refuge manager John Brock.  Exposure caused the boy to experience burning eyes, a runny nose and coughing.

“It was pungent enough to make him run away from it,” Brock said.  The exposure did not cause the boy any extended health problems, he said.

Brock and other officials subsequently found up to 10 additional vials, each 6-7 inches in length and sealed at both ends.

“We didn’t know what we were dealing with so we backed out,” Brock said.  “My worse concern is that there may be something else buried out there.”

Personnel from the U.S. Army 22nd Chemical Battalion are expected to arrive at the refuge by Friday to determine what is inside the vials and dispose of the material, AP reported.

The U.S. military from 1942 to 1946 used the refuge area for bombing practice.  No chemical weapons are known to have been stored at the site, said Ross Adkins, public affairs head for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Tulsa.

The vials are likely to be military material, but it is not yet known what they contain and how and when they ended up at the refuge, Adkins said.

“There are a number of things that it could be,” he said (Tim Talley, Associated Press/KJRH.com, April 24).

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