[Peace] Fwd: Fw: peace action?

[Dlind49 at aol.com]

Chemical Weapons Working Group      
P.O. Box 467, Berea, Kentucky   40403
Phone:  (859) 986-7565      Fax: (859) 986-2695
e-mail: craig at cwwg.org
web: www.cwwg.org
for more information contact:
Craig Williams: 859-986-7565
Mick Harrison: 859-321-1586

For Immediate Release: Tuesday, August 13,  2002

UTAH WHISTLEBLOWER GETS  $1.5 MILLION IN COURT RULING;
ARMY BLASTED FOR "CONSPIRACY" AGAINST WORKER

Activists point to similar management/violations at Army Chemical 
Weapons Incinerator

A chemist and former employee at Utah's Dugway Proving Ground, Dr. 
David W. Hall, was recently awarded $1.5 million in after suing the 
Department of the Army for harrassment after he raised safety 
concerns about the Army's handling of hazardous wastes, chemical 
warfare agents and other toxic substances.

In the final ruling by Judge David W. DiNardi, the Judge praised Hall 
for being a "dedicated, conscientious and highly motivated public 
citizen," and blasted the Army's management style and environmental 
compliance record at Dugway Proving Ground, a military base where 
chemical and biological weapons have been tested for decades. 
Citizens living near U.S. chemical weapons stockpile sites note 
similarities in mismanagement, environmental violations and 
unacceptable worker risks brought to light in Dr. Hall's case, and 
the continued problems faced at chemical weapons incinerator sites in 
Utah and elsewhere.  

Hall worked as a chemist at Dugway for ten years, during which he 
"raised concerns regarding potential violations of environmental laws 
involving hazardous wastes, hazardous substances , and chemical 
warfare agent."  In what the judge called, "a conspiracy against 
him," Hall was demoted, stripped of his security clearance, given 
false work evaluations and subjected to repeated mental exams - all 
in an effort to stop his protected reporting activities.

Among some of the issues Hall raised, were that the Army:  dumped 
toxic waste down a drain that went to the community water supply; 
faked agent penetration tests for gas masks, like those used in the 
Gulf War; exposed humans to chemical warfare agents and other toxic 
chemicals; and, ignored employees taking hazardous chemicals home 
with them.

Referring to concerns surrounding  September 11, Judge DiNardi said 
that it is, "especially important for federal employees to feel free 
to report waste, fraud and abuse without fear of reprisal." Dugway 
has been named as one of the suspected sites as the source of the 
anthrax used in the letters mailed to Capital Hill and elsewhere.

Mick Harrison, Dr. Hall's attorney said, "This decision from the 
Department of Labor sends an important precedent-setting message to 
the Army and employers in Utah and nationwide:  Employees that raise 
safety and environmental concerns will be protected from employer 
retaliation."  Harrison also noted, "This ruling comes at a critical 
time for a number of conscientious workers who are raising similar 
concerns regarding safety and environmental violations at the Army's 
chemical weapons incinerator in Tooele."

On July 15, 2002  several workers at the Army's Tooele, Utah 
incinerator were exposed to Sarin (GB) nerve agent.  That incident 
was the latest of numerous incidents where chemical agents have been 
released within and outisde of the plant, putting workers and the 
public at risk.   Since the Tooele incinerator began operations in 
1996, several high-ranking whistleblowers, including the Chief Safety 
Officer, Chief Environmental Compliance Officer and even the Plant 
Manager, have raised serious safety concerns about the facililty. 

Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group said, 
"The workers at the Tooele incinerator are on the front line of this 
country's attempts to rid ourselves of these dangerous materials. 
They deserve the utmost protection and responsibility by the military 
and their contractor  - unfortunately they are not receiving either."

This past April, another worker levied charges at the Utah 
incinerator citing, among other things:

… workers knowingly being tasked to enter "hot" areas using agent 
contaminated life support air hoses ("hot" are areas where agents are 
known or expected to be present) ;
… recurring failures of personnel to follow safety procedures;
… inadequate responses to emergency shut downs;
… failure to prepare incident notification reports;
… inadequacies in waste and munitions tracking;
… repeated releases of agent and other toxic chemicals to the environment;
… incomplete destruction of chemical agents in the Deactivation furnace;
… shipment of leaking munitions in inappropriate containers into 
unprotected worker areas to save time; and,
… sending workers into "hot" areas with inadequate protective gear in 
order to stay on schedule.

"These are the very same types of allegations Dr. Hall raised at 
Dugway," said Williams. "The pattern of misconduct is unmistakable, 
and it must be changed."   

One of the key complaints among workers at the Tooele incinerator is 
that the Army is putting deadlines and program schedules over worker 
safety.  This is especially problematic as the incinerator will soon 
attempt to burn VX nerve agents, the most deadly of the chemicals.

Citizens in Anniston, Alabama and Umatilla, Oregon are watching 
closely the events in Utah, as the Army hopes to begin burning 
chemical weapons at those stockpile sites.   At both of these sites, 
the Army is seeking major modifications to the incinerators by 
forcing larger quantities of munitions through the furnaces than they 
were designed or permitted to handle.  Williams noted, "Pushing the 
limits of a flawed technology is unsafe and violates the 
Congressional mandate to  provide 'Maximum Protection' to workers, 
the public and the environment."

Cindy King of the Utah Sierra Club, advocating safe, non-incineration 
technologies for chemical weapons disposal, wondered "What will it 
take to make those in charge of the chemical weapons program 
prioritize worker safety and protection of public health?   Dr. 
Hall's  case is a perfect example of the lengths the Army is willing 
to go to cover up their mistakes.  Hopefully this ruling will be 
heard all the way to the Pentagon and actions will be taken to 
support, not condemn, workers who want to do the right thing."