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Nerve gas residue Trace amounts of the nerve agent VX were found in the residue of a furnace at the Johnston Atoll chemical weapon disposal site, forcing the Army to test two inspectors working on the project.
spurs tests at
Johnston Atoll
The Army says blood tests
of disposal workers show
no exposure to VXStar-Bulletin staff
Chuck Musto, Army spokesman, said blood analyses of the individuals showed no exposure to VX at the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System, 825 miles southwest of Honolulu.
"It was a very, very small amount," Musto said. "Nothing to be alarmed about."
The Army said air monitoring showed that no chemical agents were released.
Musto said shell casings that had contained the nerve agent are burned in a furnace and the residue inspected periodically. An inspection on Thursday turned up trace amounts, triggering the tests.
VX land mines are the last remaining munitions being destroyed on Johnston. That process began last month and involves 13,302 land mines filled with nerve agent VX.
Once the last batch has been destroyed in January, the 10-year-old Army facility will be closed.
The atoll consists of several man-made islands and is expected to be turned into a wildlife refugee.
Nearly 400,000 pounds of bombs, mortars, rockets and bulk chemical containers have been destroyed there.
Johnston has been a storage site since 1991, and its inventory has included nerve agents VX and GB, or Sarin, and the blister agent HD, or mustard gas.