Nerve Gas Canisters Found in Colo.

D E N V E R, Dec. 1 -- Colorado Gov. Bill Owens is scheduled to meet with top Pentagon officials today over what to do with deadly nerve gas found at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal east of Denver.

Six grapefruit-sized canisters filled with the potentially lethal Sarin gas have been found during cleanup operations at the arsenal over the last month and a half.

The Pentagon has dispatched four-star Army Gen. John Coburn to take charge of the situation.

“Whatever we do, let’s first of all be safe for the employees, citizens and our soldiers,” Coburn said.

Sarin is a colorless and odorless gas that attacks the central nervous system. It has been used since World War I as a chemical weapon, and was used in the infamous Aum Shinrikyo attack that killed 12 people and injured thousands in a Tokyo subway in 1995. Depending on weather conditions, the gas can be lethal at a distance of up to three-quarters of a mile.

Safety Comes First

The canisters, found in a landfill in a restricted area on the property, are estimated to be about 40 years old, Army sources say. Because of their age and contents, the canisters are too unstable to transport to a disposal site in Utah, said army officials. The canisters were found during an ongoing cleanup effort of the arsenal in order to make it into a nature reserve.

Army officials say they have no idea why the canisters have sat out on the ground and in the open. The army has yet to come up with a plan for the destruction of the Cold War relics.

The Army is considering detonating the canisters above ground in the open air, possibly with some sort of vapor containment device.

“We think it’s the safest way, the best way, but there’s no 100 percent guarantee, and so therefore we want to err on the side of safety in the disposal of the canisters,” an official said.

Citizens, Environmentalists Up in Arms

Citizens and envrionmentalists are angry over the recent discovery of the deadly devices.