angelburst29
The Living Force
October 10, 2013 - Thursday - Mustard gas leaking from weapons storage facility near Pueblo (Colorado):
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=HZ-20131010-41217-USA
Mustard agent vapor was discovered near a chemical weapons storage facility near Pueblo, Colorado, CBS Denver reported today on its web news site. The facility is a military storage facility, as shown in the photo, that stores chemical weapons. "The Pueblo Chemical Depot announced that a chemical monitoring crew Tuesday detected and confirmed the presence of mustard agent vapor inside a chemical storage igloo," CBS Denver reported. The story said that federal, state and Pueblo County officials were informed of the chemical leak. A story from KKTV.com reported, "The crew detected the vapor inside a chemical storage igloo that contains 105 mm projectiles. They found it during routine operations. Passive carbon filters prevent that contaminated air from getting out of the igloo. Crews are now installing 1,000 cubic ft./minute air filters to lower the levels of the contaminated air. They'll do this before a crew goes inside the igloo wearing protective equipment. They'll search for a possible leak." Officials insist there is no safety concerns about the storage of the chemical weapons. Officials at the facility storing them said in a statement, "All operations associated with finding the leaking munitions will be completed under strict engineering controls, protecting the environment and safety of all depot employees and surrounding communities."
October 09, 2013 - Mustard Agent detected at Pueblo Chemical Depot
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Mustard-Agent-Detected-At-Pueblo-Chemical-Depot-226979331.html
A crew in charge of monitoring chemicals at the Pueblo Chemical Depot detected and confirmed the presence of mustard agent vapor.
The crew detected the vapor inside a chemical storage igloo that contains 105 mm projectiles. They found it during routine operations.
Passive carbon filters prevent that contaminated air from getting out of the igloo. Crews are now installing 1,000 cubic ft./minute air filters to lower the levels of the contaminated air. They'll do this before a crew goes inside the igloo wearing protective equipment. They'll search for a possible leak.
Federal, state and Pueblo County officials were told about the vapor immediately. The Depot says, "All operations associated with finding the leaking munitions will be completed under strict engineering controls, protecting the environment and safety of all depot employees and surrounding communities."
Also here:
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/10/08/mustard-agent-vapor-detected-at-pueblo-chemical-depot/
Comment: It took the Hazmat Alert Map 2-3 days before reporting this incident?
July 03, 2013 - Three leaking Mustard Gas Shells isolated at Pueblo Chemical Depot
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23949548/three-leaking-mustard-gas-shells-isolated-at-pueblo
A mustard gas leak discovered in early July at a storage facility for aging chemical weapons was cleaned up last week, the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot announced in a Monday news release.
Chemical crews transferred three leaking 155 mm steel shells into containers and moved them to a storage facility approved for over-packed, leaking munitions. The wine-bottle shaped shells are vulnerable to pressure changes that can cause them to leak.
No physical evidence of the leaks was detected, the depot said.
Monitoring crews detected mustard agent vapors in one of the Pueblo facility's weapons storage units July 3 during a weekly check-up.
An air filtration system was installed in the affected structure before crews wearing gear to protect them from the caustic, cancer-causing gas looked for the leaking projectiles inside, the release said.
The operation was completed Monday.
The Pueblo Chemical Depot is a complex of almost 100 underground igloos where a massive cache of World War II era chemical weapons from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal are stored until they can be destroyed, as required by the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
October 20, 2008 - Chemical Stockpile Destruction
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Chemical-Weapon-Stockpile-Destruction-Pueblo-CO-05121/
After being robotically drained from its munitions casing, the viscous mustard agent will be chemically neutralized by vigorous mixing with hot water and a caustic solution. This produces a biodegradable liquid byproduct known as hydrolysate. the hydrolysate then undergoes biotreatment by microbes that “digest” the organics in the solution, breaking them down into carbon dioxide and wet solids called biosludge. Says Bechtel Pueblo project manager Paul Henry:
“The engineering challenge is not in neutralizing the mustard; it’s in the mechanics of removing the explosives and draining the mustard out of more than half a million individual artillery and mortar shells.”
http://hisz.rsoe.hu/alertmap/site/?pageid=event_desc&edis_id=HZ-20131010-41217-USA
Mustard agent vapor was discovered near a chemical weapons storage facility near Pueblo, Colorado, CBS Denver reported today on its web news site. The facility is a military storage facility, as shown in the photo, that stores chemical weapons. "The Pueblo Chemical Depot announced that a chemical monitoring crew Tuesday detected and confirmed the presence of mustard agent vapor inside a chemical storage igloo," CBS Denver reported. The story said that federal, state and Pueblo County officials were informed of the chemical leak. A story from KKTV.com reported, "The crew detected the vapor inside a chemical storage igloo that contains 105 mm projectiles. They found it during routine operations. Passive carbon filters prevent that contaminated air from getting out of the igloo. Crews are now installing 1,000 cubic ft./minute air filters to lower the levels of the contaminated air. They'll do this before a crew goes inside the igloo wearing protective equipment. They'll search for a possible leak." Officials insist there is no safety concerns about the storage of the chemical weapons. Officials at the facility storing them said in a statement, "All operations associated with finding the leaking munitions will be completed under strict engineering controls, protecting the environment and safety of all depot employees and surrounding communities."
October 09, 2013 - Mustard Agent detected at Pueblo Chemical Depot
http://www.kktv.com/home/headlines/Mustard-Agent-Detected-At-Pueblo-Chemical-Depot-226979331.html
A crew in charge of monitoring chemicals at the Pueblo Chemical Depot detected and confirmed the presence of mustard agent vapor.
The crew detected the vapor inside a chemical storage igloo that contains 105 mm projectiles. They found it during routine operations.
Passive carbon filters prevent that contaminated air from getting out of the igloo. Crews are now installing 1,000 cubic ft./minute air filters to lower the levels of the contaminated air. They'll do this before a crew goes inside the igloo wearing protective equipment. They'll search for a possible leak.
Federal, state and Pueblo County officials were told about the vapor immediately. The Depot says, "All operations associated with finding the leaking munitions will be completed under strict engineering controls, protecting the environment and safety of all depot employees and surrounding communities."
Also here:
http://denver.cbslocal.com/2013/10/08/mustard-agent-vapor-detected-at-pueblo-chemical-depot/
Comment: It took the Hazmat Alert Map 2-3 days before reporting this incident?
July 03, 2013 - Three leaking Mustard Gas Shells isolated at Pueblo Chemical Depot
http://www.denverpost.com/breakingnews/ci_23949548/three-leaking-mustard-gas-shells-isolated-at-pueblo
A mustard gas leak discovered in early July at a storage facility for aging chemical weapons was cleaned up last week, the U.S. Army Pueblo Chemical Depot announced in a Monday news release.
Chemical crews transferred three leaking 155 mm steel shells into containers and moved them to a storage facility approved for over-packed, leaking munitions. The wine-bottle shaped shells are vulnerable to pressure changes that can cause them to leak.
No physical evidence of the leaks was detected, the depot said.
Monitoring crews detected mustard agent vapors in one of the Pueblo facility's weapons storage units July 3 during a weekly check-up.
An air filtration system was installed in the affected structure before crews wearing gear to protect them from the caustic, cancer-causing gas looked for the leaking projectiles inside, the release said.
The operation was completed Monday.
The Pueblo Chemical Depot is a complex of almost 100 underground igloos where a massive cache of World War II era chemical weapons from the Rocky Mountain Arsenal are stored until they can be destroyed, as required by the international Chemical Weapons Convention.
October 20, 2008 - Chemical Stockpile Destruction
http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/Chemical-Weapon-Stockpile-Destruction-Pueblo-CO-05121/
After being robotically drained from its munitions casing, the viscous mustard agent will be chemically neutralized by vigorous mixing with hot water and a caustic solution. This produces a biodegradable liquid byproduct known as hydrolysate. the hydrolysate then undergoes biotreatment by microbes that “digest” the organics in the solution, breaking them down into carbon dioxide and wet solids called biosludge. Says Bechtel Pueblo project manager Paul Henry:
“The engineering challenge is not in neutralizing the mustard; it’s in the mechanics of removing the explosives and draining the mustard out of more than half a million individual artillery and mortar shells.”
