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Leaking Mustard Munition Located and Overpacked
Blue Grass Chemical Activity, Richmond, KY - A leaking Mustard 155mm artillery shell detected on July 28th has been located within the igloo and overpacked into a leakproof container.
"The toxic chemical workers who spent hours in very hot protective clothing are the true heroes of this incident," said Lieutenant Colonel David Musgrave, commander of the Blue Grass Chemical Activity. "They spent countless manhours sweltering in rubber protective clothing wearing gas masks sorting through thousands of artillery shells to find one that was leaking."
It has been nine days since the initial detection that the toxic chemical workers found and overpacked the leaker. It will be a few days more until the overpacked shell will be moved into another igloo that contains only overpacked Mustard munitions. In the meantime, the original igloo will be monitored daily to ensure that there are no other leaking shells that were masked by the one that was overpacked. "It is not until we are sure that the igloo contains no further leaking munitions that we can close out this incident," said Musgrave.
The second Mustard leak reported today is now undergoing the same intense scrutiny that located the first leak. This latest leak was discovered at a very low concentration and poses no risk to the community or the environment.
"As the dog days of summer continue with accompanying higher temperatures, the potential for more leaking munitions increases," said Musgrave, "But the men and women of the Blue Grass Chemical Activity continue to be vigilant and keep the safety of our community to be our highest priority."
Local and state emergency management agencies as well as environmental agencies are being constantly updated on this incident
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