Nerve gas leak
brings penaltyThe Army is fined for
infractions in 2000 at its now-idle
furnace on Johnston Atoll
The Army will pay a total of $273,625 to settle violations over the release of a trace amount of the deadly VX nerve gas at its defunct chemical weapons incinerator on remote Johnston Atoll, federal environmental officials said yesterday.
Under the settlement announced by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's San Francisco office, the Army will spend $182,500 to restore native plants on the island's wildlife refuge and pay $91,125 in fines for the violations stemming from the December 2000 discovery of a trace amount of the nerve agent in a waste bin at the Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System facility 825 miles southwest of Hawaii.
"The Army's planned re-vegetation project goes beyond violations and paying a penalty," said Amy Zimpfer, acting director for the EPA Pacific Southwest Region's Waste Management Division. "The project will help restore fragile bird habitat and mitigate the negative environmental effects of decades of past military activity on this remote Pacific island."
The plantings will enhance the only habitat for Pacific seabirds in 800,000 square miles of ocean, officials said.
"This project is intended to help restore native vegetation on Johnston Island and should run concurrently with the demolition of much of that island's infrastructure," said Lindsey Hayes, refuge manager for the Johnston Atoll National Wildlife Refuge. "The types of vegetation to be planted provide valuable nesting habitat to numerous species of seabirds breeding at Johnston Atoll."
Army officials said at the time that the incident was not serious and posed no risk to workers or the environment, but as a precaution, nine workers were given blood tests, which determined there was no exposure to the VX nerve agent.
The Army was cited for a number of violations. The EPA said workers did not have protective gear, the facility's emergency procedures were not complied with, hazardous waste was stored in a nonpermitted area and the Army failed to immediately notify the EPA of the release of the nerve agent.
In April, Army officials said all secondary waste from a decade of chemical weapons disposal had been safely incinerated.
Some 4 million pounds of sarin nerve gas, mustard gas and blister agent dating back to World War II have been incinerated at the facility along with more than 400,000 rockets, projectiles, bombs and mortars containing chemical agents.
The Army is in the process of closing the facility.
