Summary: The Army's assessment that its stockpile of chemical weapons can be stored safely until 2004 is questionable. According to Sandia National Laboratories, the data on which the Army based its assessment were old and may no longer be representative of munitions in actual field storage. Also, the assessment did not analyze leaking munitions. Sandia recommended that the Army immediately expand its stockpile monitoring activities to include propellant samples from nonleaking and leaking munitions at each storage location. The Army has established a working group to review its assessment and has received $4.5 million in fiscal year 1995 to expand its stockpile monitoring activities. However, the expanded monitoring activities will not resolve all questions about the stability of the stockpile. A contingency plan for emergency disposal of the M55 rocket is needed because it is the only munition in the stockpile that cannot readily be reconfigured to remove its explosive components. However, the Army has not prepared a plan. It is studying several courses of action, but more information on the specific hazards is needed before a plan can be finalized.
