No trace of nerve agent has been found in what little remains of carcasses of some of the 6,400 sheep killed in 1968 following a test mishap at Dugway Proving Ground.
There was little left of the estimated 1,647 carcasses dumped in five trenches on the Goshutes' Skull Valley Band's reservation, said David Tillson, an engineering geologist hired by the Goshutes."They had mostly turned to dust," he said Wednesday. "We found bone in one sample and what appeared to be sheep wool or hide in another."
Nerve agent breaks down quickly, and experts had expected nothing would be found after so many years, but tribal leaders wanted to be certain there were no environmental risks before proceeding with development plans for their land 60 miles west of Salt Lake City.
The reservation was one of five areas downwind from the Army proving ground where sheep died in late March 1968.
They died after nerve agent drifted off the military base during an open-air weapons test on March 13, 1968.
The military paid ranchers for the lost sheep and agreed to stop open-air tests. Various military officials gave differing opinions over the years as to whether the payment was an admission of guilt.
Tribal leaders want the sheep dug up and removed from the reservation, but work is stalled by disputes between the Goshutes and the Corps of Engineers over details of the cleanup project.