The Secret Casualties of Iraq’s Abandoned Chemical Weapons By C. J. CHIVERS         

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A controlled detonation of recovered mustard shells near Taji, Iraq, on Aug. 17, 2008. John Paul Williams

Published: October 14, 2014

The soldiers at the blast crater sensed something was wrong.

Key Points

• During the Iraq war, at least 17 American service members and seven Iraqi police officers were exposed to aging chemical weapons abandoned years earlier.
• These weapons were not part of an active arsenal. They were remnants from Iraq's arms program in the 1980s during the Iran-Iraq war.
• Many troops who were exposed received inadequate care. None of the veterans were enrolled in long-term health monitoring.
• Munitions are unaccounted for in areas of Iraq now under control of ISIS.
• In response to this investigation, the Pentagon acknowledged that more than 600 troops reported chemical exposure, but it failed to recognize the scope or offer adequate treatment. Follow developments »___________________________________________________

Participants and victims of this secret chapter of the Iraq war discuss exposure to chemical weapons.

It was August 2008 near Taji, Iraq. They had just exploded a stack of old Iraqi artillery shells buried beside a murky lake. The blast, part of an effort to destroy munitions that could be used in makeshift bombs, uncovered more shells.

Two technicians assigned to dispose of munitions stepped into the hole. Lake water seeped in. One of them, Specialist Andrew T. Goldman, noticed a pungent odor, something, he said, he had never smelled before.

He lifted a shell. Oily paste oozed from a crack. “That doesn’t look like pond water,” said his team leader, Staff Sgt. Eric J. Duling.

The specialist swabbed the shell with chemical detection paper. It turned red — indicating sulfur mustard, the chemical warfare agent designed to burn a victim’s airway, skin and eyes.

All three men recall an awkward pause. Then Sergeant Duling gave an order: “Get the hell out.”

 

FULL STORY / N Y TIMES     Aug. 17, 2008