U.S. Response:  Army Is Ready to License Chemical Decontaminant

By Mike Nartker
Global Security Newswire

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has decided to allow private companies to license the patents for a biological process to decontaminate items affected by chemical weapons agents, according to a notice published earlier this week in the Federal Register (see GSN, June 2).

Army scientists have developed a process to produce, in genetically engineered micro-organisms, two types of enzymes that are able to break down organophosphorus compounds that are found in nerve agents, John Biffoni, an intellectual property attorney with the U.S. Army Soldier and Biological Chemical Command, told Global Security Newswire yesterday.  The enzymes can then be made into a dry powder and mixed with water to create a decontamination spray that is less corrosive and more “environmentally friendly” than decontaminants currently in use, Biffoni said.

Monday’s announcement in the Federal Register is required to be available for 60 days before the Army can make a decision on granting a patent license, Biffoni said.  He said the Army is close to negotiating an exclusive license for the process with a company, but refused to provide further details citing confidentiality.  At the end of the 60-day period, the Army is likely to publish a 15-day announcement in the Federal Register announcing the intent to issue an exclusive license, Biffoni said.

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United States I:  Representative Wants Defense Explanation on Disposal

U.S. Representative Mike Turner (R-Ohio) has appealed to the Defense Department to release records and contracts related to the Army’s plan for treating and disposing VX nerve agent, the Dayton Daily News reported Saturday (see GSN, July 16).

Turner and Representative Christopher Shays (R-Conn.) sent a letter to Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld asking for clarification on what level of “public acceptance” is required before the Army can move ahead with its chemical demilitarization plans.

The Army plans to neutralize VX agent in Indiana, then treat the runoff and release it into the sewer system in the Dayton area.  Defense officials have proposed a $9 million plan to reach out to the community and gain acceptance of the plan, according to the Daily News.

After asking Pentagon officials what level of public acceptance they are seeking, Turner received a May 15 letter from the Army saying that the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency would measure public opinion.  The Ohio EPA, however, said that it does not have the authority to measure public acceptance or gauge the safety of the program (Jim DeBrosse, Dayton Daily News, July 26). 

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United States II:  Utah Trial Begins for Man Accused of Falsifying Safety Reports

A worker at the Deseret Chemical Depot in Utah has gone on trial for allegedly falsifying air-monitoring test results, the Associated Press reported today (see GSN, Nov. 1, 2002).

David James Yarbrough has been charged with eight counts of making false statements to a U.S. agency, according to AP.  Yarbrough has been accused of falsely claiming last year that air-monitoring units at the depot were performing at passable levels while knowing that the data showed otherwise, AP reported.

Yarbrough’s attorney, Earl Xaiz, denied his client made any false statements.  Yarbrough made his own data sheets to gather as much information as possible on the units and accurately recorded the information he was given, Xaiz said (Associated Press, July 29).

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United States:  Alabama Governor Wants Power to Shut Down Anniston Incinerator

Alabama Governor Bob Riley has refused to sign a memorandum of agreement with the U.S. Army over a chemical weapons incinerator located at the Anniston Army Depot unless he is given the authority to stop the incinerator if necessary, the Birmingham News reported Saturday (see GSN, July 24).

Riley is requesting a clause in the memorandum that would state that he would have the authority to shut down the incinerator if the Army does not fulfill its safety commitments, Riley’s spokesman David Azbell said.  The Army is considering Riley’s request, a Defense Department spokeswoman said.

The Army does not need Riley’s permission to operate the incinerator, according to the News.  Even so, earlier this year officials began discussing the memorandum, which sets the terms agreed to by Alabama and the Army to begin the incinerator’s operation.  The memorandum requires the signatures of Acting Army Secretary Les Brownlee, a Homeland Security Department official and Riley.

“By having the MOA, it gives the governor the assurance that his concerns have been resolved and at the same time, with this clause it gives him the ability to take action on behalf of the people of Alabama,” Azbell said (Katherine Bouma, Birmingham News, July 26).

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