Regulatory Agencies Approve Rocky Mountain Arsenal Lewisite Work Plan
Wildlife Refuge to Remain Closed Temporarily
November 13, 2007—Denver—The Colorado Department
of Public Health and Environment, U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency and Tri-County Health Department
today approved the Rocky Mountain Arsenal’s work plan to
investigate
the source of lewisite, a chemical weapon detected Oct. 31
while Army
contractors were excavating a trench at the site.
Contractors were
digging in an area known as the Lime Basins, which were used
to treat
liquid waste from past lewisite production. Lewisite is a
liquid chemical compound developed by the United States
during World War I for use as a poisonous gas. Like mustard
gas,
lewisite is a blistering agent. Lewisite penetrates ordinary
clothing
and even rubber, and its absorption through the skin may be
fatal. When
inhaled, it is a powerful respiratory irritant. Inhalation
causes a
burning pain, sneezing, coughing, vomiting and possibly
swelling in the
lungs. It was manufactured at the Arsenal for eight months
in 1943. Tomorrow, technical experts will begin sampling
and visually inspecting
the soil that was excavated from the trench at the time the
lewisite
detection occurred. While conducting the investigation, Army
contractors
wearing protective safety equipment will spray a caustic
bleach solution
on the soil to suppress dust and neutralize any residual
lewisite that
may remain. This process is expected to take approximately
four days.
Air monitoring will continue at the work site throughout the
investigation.
The goal is to better identify whether the lewisite
detected in the air
was the result of leakage from buried lewisite in a
container or in the
soil from historical liquid disposal practices from the
1940s. The
results of the investigation will determine future clean up
processes on
the excavated soils and completion of the trenching. The
Lime Basins project is located in a restricted area of the
arsenal
within the central portion of the site. The trench was being
excavated
around the perimeter of the Lime Basins to prepare for the
installation
of a 45-foot underground vertical barrier wall and a future
cover over
the site. The barrier wall and cover are designed to prevent
future
contamination of groundwater. Since the initial detection,
air sampling
at the project site has continued to show no new detectable
lewisite.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has decided to keep
the Rocky
Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge closed for now as
a
precautionary measure and will reopen when all the
organizations agree
that it is safe. Community members with questions about
the ongoing cleanup of the
arsenal are encouraged to contact the site’s Community
Information
Line at 303-289-0136 or the Tri-County Health Department’s
Rocky
Mountain Arsenal Information Line at 303-286-8032. --30-- |
