By Callie Buys
Officials at the Deseret Chemical Depot sounded a terrorist alert warning system at 9:24 a.m. in response to a possible instrusion in a fenced area between the chemical storage area and outer perimeter fence.
'Depot operations have all been curtailed,' said Rick Newcomb, a telephone responder at the joint information center established to answer public and media questions.
Employees are in standby status, and the depot, located approximately 12 miles south of Tooele, has been locked down. State, county and local law enforcement agencies have responded to the possible intrusion.
The DCD site stores more than 40 percent of the nation''s chemical weapons, and is controlled and operated by the U.S. Army Chemical and Biological Defense Command.
The depot also rupports weapons demilitarization, including research and development activities.