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United States: Army Says Contractor Made Safety Mistakes in Utah A series of mistakes and safety violations by a defense contractor contributed to a July incident in which two workers were exposed to sarin at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah, the Salt Lake Tribune reported yesterday (see GSN, July 17). In the July 15 incident a worker reacted to trace amounts of sarin, becoming disoriented and complaining of blurry vision and head and chest pains. His red blood cell count dropped as well. Another worker was not affected, despite exposure to the sarin. EG&G Defense Materials, a contractor for the Army at the depot, had relaxed safety regulations despite discovering a leaking valve on an incinerator in January, a recently released Army investigation says. The defective incinerator discovered in January is identical to the one connected to the July leak. The contractor also failed to document the defective valve and a flawed pressure regulator from the first leak, the Army report said (see GSN, Jan. 8). The report also faulted officials at the depot for not taking medical or decontamination measures after the workers were exposed. In response to the accidents, the Army has ordered safety education for workers, improved communication among personnel at the incinerators and proper safety checks. “The corrective language sounds great on paper,” said Jason Groenewold, director of the Salt Lake City organization, Families Against Incinerator Risk. “But we’ve been hearing that same thing from the Army for nearly a decade now, yet nothing has changed” (Dawn House, Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 10).
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