Army Use of Toxic Chemical Scored : Environment: Study calls decontaminating agent dangerous. GAO report is termed “case study” of problems with hazardous waste.

The Army continues to buy, store and transport tons of a highly toxic compound used as a chemical warfare decontaminating agent even though it is too poisonous to train with, it destroys the equipment it is supposed to clean and cheaper and safer alternatives are available, congressional investigators said Thursday.

Thousands of gallons of the material, known as decontaminating solution 2, or DS-2, are stored in corroding and leaking containers at “grossly” inadequate warehouses in the United States and overseas, the General Accounting Office said in a report released Thursday.

The chemical corrodes most metals, eats rubber and plastics and destroys electronic equipment. When the Army tested it on the M1 main battle tank, the tank was left inoperable because of damage to electronic cables, one of which started smoking minutes after coming in contact with DS-2.

In an unusually forceful recommendation, the GAO urged the Army and Marine Corps to suspend purchases of the toxic mixture immediately and adopt a safer substitute. The study noted that the Army training command had made a similar recommendation, but it was overruled by senior Army officials.

The Air Force and the Navy have stopped using DS-2 in favor of warm soapy water and common bleach.

Despite problems with the substance, the Army insists that DS-2 will remain its “decontaminant of choice” until the 21st Century.

Army officials say that the substance is the only agent that neutralizes chemical weapons, rather than merely washing them off. Other decontaminants such as soap and bleach leave toxic runoff that must be treated or otherwise disposed of, they argue.

“The Army is currently evaluating less hazardous alternatives to Decontaminating Solution 2,” David J. Berteau, deputy assistant secretary of defense for production and logistics, said in a letter sent to the GAO this week. “Until one is found, however, Decontaminating Solution 2 continues to be the most effective multipurpose decontaminant for a broad range of potential chemical agents encountered.”

The GAO report on DS-2 provides “a case study” of all the military’s problems with hazardous waste, according to Norman J. Rabkin, the GAO investigator who prepared the report. Numerous Pentagon and outside studies have shown that the military’s negligent toxic waste disposal practices have left a trail of pollution at thousands of sites on U.S. military bases around the world. The military is just now beginning to address the multibillion-dollar problem, officials acknowledged.

The GAO study on DS-2 was requested by Rep. Mike Synar (D-Okla.), chairman of the House Government Operations Committee’s subcommittee on the environment, energy and natural resources.

Rabkin told the panel Thursday that the Pentagon has not followed through on promises to reduce the quantity of hazardous wastes that it generates and that it has failed to build and maintain proper storage facilities for dangerous materials. He said that thousands of damaged and leaking containers are stored in open sheds where spillage is allowed to run off onto the ground and containers are susceptible to wind, rain, snow and extreme temperatures.

Rabkin also said that the Army every year orders thousands of pounds of DS-2 even as it is auctioning off tons of the material as surplus.

Large quantities of DS-2 have ended up in the hands of people who have dumped it illegally, including at sites in Wilmington, Calif., and Collinsville, Calif. Both sites are seriously contaminated, according to congressional testimony earlier this year. Cleaning up the Wilmington and Collinsville dumps will cost at least $1 million each, California officials said.

The Air Force and Navy said that not only are their cleaners cheaper but they avoid the serious health threats posed by DS-2. The decontaminating solution is highly toxic and corrosive and has been found to cause birth defects, severe burns and damage to the eyes, nervous system and liver.