Nerve Gas

Doctor testifies in depot lawsuit

June 16th, 2004

By the Herald Staff and The Associated Press

PORTLAND -- A doctor testified Tuesday that he suffered symptoms of possible nerve gas exposure after treating three construction workers evacuated from the Umatilla Chemical Depot nearly five years ago.

Dr. Joseph Gifford told a federal judge he was called to the emergency room at Good Shepherd Medical Center in Hermiston on Sept. 15, 1999, to help treat dozens of workers who were stricken at the Army site, where aging chemical weapons are stored.

The workers were building an incinerator that is to begin destroying 7.4 million pounds of deadly nerve gas and other chemical weapons beginning this summer.

Gifford highlighted testimony Tuesday, as the second phase began in a trial in which 49 construction workers are suing the Army.

While working on the incinerator, the workers became violently ill, which they believe was caused by a chemical weapons leak -- which the Army denies.

Gifford testified he believed he may have suffered secondary contamination from something on the clothing worn by the three patients he treated.

He said he suffered a variety of symptoms -- including nausea, coughing, dizziness, chest pain and a foul taste in his mouth -- which he said could be traced to the nerve gas sarin.

But under questioning by Henry Miller, a U.S. Justice Department attorney representing the Army, Gifford admitted the symptoms could have been caused by some other source, such as industrial chemicals or pesticides used on nearby farms.

Miller asked Gifford about the main symptom of sarin gas exposure, a contraction of the pupils called miosis that results in "pinpoint pupils" that do not react to changes in light.

Miller noted that symptom was not listed in any of the medical records Gifford filed.

"If you'd seen miosis, or pinpoint pupils, you would have noted it in your records?" Miller asked Gifford.

"Yes," Gifford replied.

Miller also noted that exposure to the pesticide malathion is common in Eastern Oregon and also causes pinpoint pupils because it is chemically similar to sarin.

But James McCandlish, the attorney representing the injured workers, claimed the Army has created an "Emperor with no clothes" illusion by suggesting chemicals other than sarin caused the workers' symptoms.

"When you hear hooves behind you, in that part of the country you shouldn't be looking for a zebra but something more obvious," McCandlish said.

U.S. District Judge Dennis Hubel ruled in February the Army was negligent in its emergency response during the incident for not immediately getting medical attention for the workers.

In this phase of the trial, McCandlish must convince Hubel that nerve gas caused the workers' injuries.

On Tuesday, McCandlish said chemical monitors at the depot showed "hits" of sarin and mustard gas that day. But the Army suggested other chemical agents could have caused a false positive reading.

Justice Department attorney James Brennan said four independent investigations of the incident that were done by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Army and the Army's contractor, Raytheon, did not find evidence of weapons leaks.

"If there was some mysterious stealth leak, it sure as heck would have been detected," Brennan said.

But McCandlish called two separate expert witnesses, who said monitors at the depot detected mustard gas and sarin nerve agent that day.

Marco Kaltofen, a chemical engineer familiar with the monitoring equipment, said the monitors work by detecting the sulfur in mustard and the phosphorus in sarin. He said Army documents show sarin was detected four times that day and mustard gas twice.

Miller pointed out the depot is surrounded by farms, where pesticides that contain both sulfur and phosphorus are often used.

"You don't know whether or not someone could have been driving a diesel truck or spraying pesticides," Miller said to Kaltofen.

"Based on the procedure the Army used at the time, these are valid detections," Kaltofen responded.

Rod O'Conner, an environmental chemist, said tests on the workers' clothing found isopropyl alcohol, which he said is a byproduct of sarin, along with hydrogen fluoride that would irritate the skin and eyes.

The workers already have settled out of court with the civilian contractor, Raytheon Demilitarization Co., now Washington Demilitarization Co.

The current second phase of the trial is expected to last two weeks. If Hubel determines chemical agents stored at the depot caused the worker's injuries, a third phase will likely be scheduled to determine damages.

http://www.tri-cityherald.com/tch/local/story/5198040p-5131027c. html

http://www.augustachronicle.com/stories/062401/tec_124-4527.sht ml

More Info:
http://www.cwwg.org/workersuit.html