[Home]
AOC 36 - Mustard Gas Investigation Report
Section 2.0 - CSSA Records Review
A
records search by CSSA indicated that 155-millimeter (mm) shells containing
mustard gas were buried and detonated at CSSA in 1942.
According to CSSA ordnance personnel, this type of shell would most
likely have a maximum length of 26.78 inches, a diameter of 155-
mm, a filled weight of 95 pounds with 11.7 pounds of mustard (CSSA
communication, November 1996). CSSA
reported the shells in a 1958 letter to the Fourth U.S. Army, Fort Sam Houston,
Texas, as “... placed in a hole with slurry, covered over and then detonated.
The exact number of shells is unknown, however reports indicate
approximately six shells were buried. Whether
or not all shell casings were opened by the detonation is also unknown” (CSSA
correspondence dated 4 April 1958). CSSA requested of the U.S. Department of the Army in April
1958 that the burial/detonation site be examined by U.S. Army Chemical Corps
Technical Escort Detachment personnel, trained in detection and disposal of such
materiel.
A U.S. Army Chemical Corps Technical Escort Unit was sent to CSSA on 15 May 1958 to assist in detection and disposal of any remaining shells and CWM. The area of focus was provided through 1942 coordinates (829100 yards, 691750 yards; CSSA General Map, 23 March 1942). The estimated location is shown in Attachments, Figure 1. A mine detector was apparently used to look for metal materials, followed by excavation to reported maximum depths of six to eight feet in the entire area searched. It was estimated that 3,000 cubic yards of soil were removed. However, the records are not clear on whether the soil was excavated and replaced, or removed to another location. Decontamination of possible residual mustard was conducted using calcium hypochlorite (bleach).
Three shells and associated scrap metal were found during the test activities. One shell was reported as primed, one as detonated and contaminated, and the third as detonated and decontaminated. The shells and scrap metal were transported to the CSSA Demolition Area, “detonated, burned, and then decontaminated” (U.S. Army Chemical Corps Trip Report, 4 June 1958). A certificate was signed by the Technical Escort Unit head that “... to the best of my knowledge, all 155-mm mustard filled rounds and resultant scrap metal buried in July, 1942, in the general area of coordinates 829100 yards, 691750 yards, Camp Stanley, General Map, dated 23 March 1942, have been recovered, destroyed, decontaminated, and no longer possess any toxic qualities whatsoever” (U.S. Army Chemical Corps communication, H.J. Young, Jr., 1st Lt., Cml C, 23 May 1958). A copy of the 1942 CSSA General Map signed by the Technical Escort Unit leader is shown in the Attachments as Figure 2.