Facilities Are Department of Defense regulations provide overall guidance for storage of various types of hazardous items. At the five Army facilities GAO visited in the United States, DS2 storage did not comply with the regulations. For example, deteriorating and leaking DS2 cans were stored in open-sided sheds, shipping containers, wall lockers, and buildings that do not conform to regulations, none of which meet the Department of Defense’s hazardous material storage requirements. In addition, at one of the facilities GAO visited, DS2 was stored with supertropical bleach, a hypochlorite. Super-tropical bleach is also a standard decontaminant; however, when it comes in contact with DS2 it can ignite and explode. GAO also visited a Marine Corps facility in the United States that had over 20,000 gallons of DS2 that was being stored in facilities that do not conform with regulations..

The Defense Logistics Agency was selling DS2 to the general public without providing information on the potential dangers of DS2 and the safety precautions that need to be taken when using DS2. According to the agency, no regulation requires that it provide buyers with specific warnings of the dangers of DS2. In 1988 the agency established procedures that required its Defense Reutilization and Marketing Offices to provide buyers, upon request, with the Material Safety Data Sheet for the hazardous material being purchased. However, these data sheets were not routinely provided. GAO contacted four individuals who purchased DS2, and they indicated that they had not received the data sheet for DS2. One individual GAO interviewed was unaware of the hazards associated with DS2 and had used 50 gallons of DS2 to clean metal parts and metal drums without using a respirator, which is required of Department of Defense personnel using the solution. The Defense Logistics Agency has recently stated that it will restrict future sales of DS2 to recyclers.