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The Pentagon has finally admitted just how much
nerve and mustard agent it stores at Tooele Army Depot. The disclosure
that the stockpile makes up 44.5 percent of the total U.S. stores of
the chemical agents, not 42.3 percent as the Army had previously said,
was no big surprise.
By now, Utahns should be accustomed to being the last to know about
potentially dangerous chemical arms being held or tested within or
near the state. The extent of Nevada nuclear testing in the '50s and
its effects on Utah have only recently been discovered through the
probing of Deseret News reporters and others.
Defense officials have for years thrown out varying figures for the
amount of chemical agents stored in a variety of artillery shells,
missiles, land mines, spray tanks and bulk containers.
Utah has a higher percentage of the whole now because recent
incinerations at Johnston Atoll in the Pacific have reduced the total
nationally.
None of the U.S. chemical weapons have been used in combat, but
officials say they have served as a deterrent to the use of the agents
by other nations against the United States.
Now the biggest question is how and when to get rid of the chemicals.
The Army wants to incinerate them where they are stored, maintaining
containers are too deteriorated to move. And the sooner, the better.
But TAD is the only storage site in the continental United States that
has an incinerator.
The Army is currently doing test burns at TAD and is expected to begin
the actual incineration process this year. The hazards of burning
lethal chemicals only a few miles from Salt Lake City have yet to be
determined.
How long will it take for the government to disclose that highly
sensitive information? If history repeats itself, the effects may not
be known for years, if ever.
Army officials say they hope to enhance their credibility by
disclosing exactly how much of the chemical agents is stored at the
various sites. But the "openness" policy will be sorely tested when it
comes to telling Utahns just how safe is the burning of the chemicals.
If tests show emissions from the burning are dangerous, alternative
methods of disposal must be pursued. Secrecy about nuclear testing 40
years ago proved fatal for many Utahns. It must not happen again. |
