Thu Sep 5, 2:02 PM ET

TOOELE, Utah (AP) - Officials at the Deseret Chemical Depot, which stores and destroys nerve agent, sounded a terrorist alert Thursday morning after a possible intrusion.

Wade Mathews, with the Toole County Emergency Management, said sheriff's deputies setup a roadblock around the depot and the Utah Department of Public Safety was searching the area by helicopter.

A depot spokeswoman was not immediately available for comment or further information.

The depot, about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, has been destroying a stockpile of deadly the chemical weapons since 1996. Earlier this year, it finished destroying the largest stockpile of sarin nerve gas in the United States.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2002

Answers

Fox

TOOELE, Utah — An Army depot where nerve gas is stored and destroyed sounded a terrorist alert Thursday after a possible intruder was reported.

One person was spotted within the heavily guarded perimeter, said Sheila Culley, a spokeswoman at the Desert Chemical Depot. It was not immediately clear if the person was caught.

In Washington, a senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said there was no evidence that anything was stolen or that terrorism was involved. The alarm was triggered after somebody reported seeing a trespasser.

The possible intruder was spotted within the fenced area between the stored chemicals and the outer perimeter. Chris Kramer of the Utah Department of Public Safety said the person was seen about a mile from the weapons incinerator.

Sheriff's deputies set up a roadblock around the depot after the alarm sounded at 9:24 a.m. and the state used a helicopter to search the grounds.

There were no immediate evacuations of the depot or surrounding areas.

The depot, about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City, stores chemical weapons such as nerve gas and mustard gas. It has been destroying a stockpile of deadly chemical weapons since 1996.

Earlier this year, it finished destroying the largest stockpile of sarin nerve gas in the United States. It is scheduled to destroy 1,300 tons of VX, a more toxic but less volatile nerve agent, and 6,100 tons of mustard gas, a blister agent that can dissolve tissue on contact.

-- Anonymous, September 05, 2002

Any update on this? Have they caught this person yet?

This makes me VERY nervous.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2002

false alarm, i heard.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2002

Fox

No Trace of an Intruder Found at Utah Nerve Gas Depot Thursday, September 05, 2002

TOOELE, Utah — Officials at an Army depot where nerve gas and other chemical weapons are stored found no trace of a reported intruder after a terrorist alert was sounded Thursday.

Col. Peter Cooper, commander of the Deseret Chemical Depot, said the security of the depot was never at risk and that the person didn't get close to the chemical storage area.

"At this time we cannot confirm an intruder," Cooper said. "Right now we are pretty sure we've cleared the depot. We're not sure if it was an employee who was not in the right area."

The person fled after being spotted within the heavily guarded perimeter by four soldiers during two separate patrols, Cooper said.

In Washington, a senior administration official speaking on condition of anonymity said there was no evidence that anything was stolen or that terrorism was involved.

The apparent trespasser, dressed in dark clothing, was sighted within a fenced area between the stored chemicals and the outer perimeter, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies set up a roadblock around the depot after the alarm sounded at 9:24 a.m. and state law officers combed the grounds into the night before calling off their search for the possible intruder. Normal operations were to resume Friday morning.

The depot, which is about 45 miles southwest of Salt Lake City and covers 19,000 acres of mostly barren, wind-swept desert dominated by sagebrush, stores chemical weapons such as nerve gas and mustard gas. It has been destroying a stockpile of deadly chemical weapons since 1996.

Earlier this year, it finished destroying the largest stockpile of sarin nerve gas in the United States. It is scheduled to destroy 1,300 tons of VX, a more toxic but less volatile nerve agent, and 6,100 tons of mustard gas, a blister agent that can dissolve tissue on contact.

-- Anonymous, September 06, 2002