Published: November 03, 2007 10:14 pm      

Criminal investigation possible at depot

Several allegations out of 40 concerning operations at the Blue Grass Army Depot will be turned over to federal criminal investigators, according to a site inspection report released Thursday from the Federal Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet and the Kentucky Department for Environmental Protection - Department of Waste Management (KDEP-DWM).

Four items were included in the report that could result in criminal charges, including the three most serious, which are allegations of a cover-up of an employee’s exposure to harmful levels of chemical agent, inconsistencies in monitoring log signatures and the demotion of an employee who refused to sign off on a standard operating procedure.

Those allegations with a potential criminal nature have been sent to the Environmental and Public Protection Cabinet’s Office of the Inspector General, and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency’s Criminal Investigation Division,” according to the 35-page site inspection report.

Despite the few allegations characterized as “potentially criminal,” the KDEP-DWM found several of the allegations to be either false or have no convicting evidence.

The complainants bringing forth the allegations are remaining anonymous at this time, according to the report.

Other serious allegations are complaints “about monitoring deficiencies, operating procedures, systematic operational failures and miscellaneous problems in the abilities of instruments and personnel to perform the sensitive task of monitoring the chemical weapons stockpile housed at the Blue Grass Army Depot, and more specifically, the Blue Grass Chemical Activity,” as stated in the inspection report.

The investigation began Sept. 1, 2006, and is a very lengthy process, said Dick Sloan, public affairs officer for the Blue Grass Chemical Agency (BGCA), which is the agency in charge of overseeing the proper maintenance and surveillance of the depot’s 70,000 M55 rockets containing the nerve agents VX, GB and Mustard.

“The investigation has been ongoing for well over a year and the KDEP has asked us for thousands of documents and we have provided everything they’ve asked for and more in an effort to assist them in this investigation,” Sloan said.

After investigating the accusations for several months, the findings discovered were “related to issues that are civil in nature, and pertain to the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Kentucky Revised Statutes (KRS), Kentucky Administrative Regulations (KAR) and the non-chemical and chemical storage permits.”

Several of the 40 allegations fell into the “administrative” category, Sloan said. This means that the allegation referred to some form of paperwork.

However, just because some of the allegations were found to be illegitimate and only three are being considered “potentially criminal,” it still is and should be a great concern to the community, according to Craig Williams, director of the Berea-based Chemical Weapons Working Group that has for many years served as a watchdog to ensure the aging weapons of mass destruction are stored and disposed as safely and as quickly as possible.

“The flavor of this report reflects that some of the most important responsibilities that are supposed to be carried out in the interest of the protection of the (pilot weapons destruction plant) construction work force and the community have fallen well short of what this community has been assured is going on out there,” he said.

Williams also is concerned about the source of the potential investigation.

“It’s the Army investigating the Army,” Williams said. “There’s really no ability for the community to independently verify what we hear from the Army about their capabilities out there (at the depot), because it’s all coming from the same place.”

One particular part of the report gave legitimacy to a complaint from a former BGCA whistleblower.

Donald Van Winkle of Berea released an official affidavit Aug. 25, 2005, summarizing his concerns that leak detection devices for the deadly VX agent at the depot were not properly working. His complaint was filed under the Clean Air Act and the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“In February or March of this year, I, along with other BGAD employees, attended training sessions with the manufacturer of the air-monitoring equipment we use,” Van Winkle wrote in his affidavit. “During our training, we learned that the (air) sampling (methods) being used at BGAD to monitor the seven igloos that store munitions containing agent VX were incorrect.”

In his affidavit, Van Winkle also revealed: “Conversion pads in the monitors have an effective life of between 10 and 30 days, but are often changed far less frequently.”

VanWinkle is only one of several past whistleblower employees of the Blue Grass Army Depot and/or the Blue Grass Chemical Agency.

According to the site inspection report, VanWinkle’s claims were legitimate: “BGCA should continue to ensure … that the replacement schedule is followed, and replacement occurs for each of the pads in service on at least a three-month interval, as outlined in the Conversion Pad Service Life Study submitted on Aug. 30, 2007.”

Despite the allegations, Sloan remains confident that the BGCA is working every day to ensure the proper storage of the weapons and the safety of employees and the community.

“We welcomed the investigation,” Sloan said. “We did everything we could to help move it forward. If we’re doing something improperly, we want to know about it. My main concern on this report is that while it seems very sensationalist in nature, in fact, it was fairly minor. We were glad to get the report, but my concern is that it could erode the confidence the community has in the Army and how we’re safeguarding this and I don’t ever want to see that happen.”

The BGAD/BGCA have 30 days to issue a formal response to all allegations.

Ronica Shannon can be reached at rshannon@richmondregister.com or 623-1669, Ext. 234.