The first mustard gas leak in three years was confirmed Tuesday at a chemical weapons stockpile in Kentucky, less than a month after workers there found a leak inside a separate storage igloo housing a deadly nerve agent.
Mustard agent is among the least lethal of the Cold War-era weapons set to be destroyed at storage sites in Kentucky and elsewhere by 2017 to comply with an international treaty. The agent causes a debilitating but usually nonfatal outbreak of severe blisters over the body of anyone coming in contact with the chemical. It often requires immediate medical attention.