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Subject: IRAQI CW

Not Finally Evaluated Intelligence







TO FACILITATE ELECTRONIC ACCESS, THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN

REFORMATTED TO ELIMINATE INFORMATION THAT DOES NOT PERTAIN

TO GULF WAR ILLNESS ISSUES OR THAT IS CLASSIFIED. A COPY OF

THIS REDACTED DOCUMENT, IN ORIGINAL FORMAT, IS AVAILABLE ON

REQUEST.







WARNING:  INFORMATION REPORT, NOT FINALLY EVALUATED INTELLIGENCE



COUNTRY: IRAQI/KUWAIT



SUBJ:  1             IRAQ'S

ASMIDA FERTILIZER PLANT NEAR KHOR-AL-ZUBAIR

2. RAILROAD-CAR TANKS OF POISON GAS AT ASMIDA







DOI:          1990







SUMMARY:          AT IRAQ'S ASMIDA FERTILIZER PLANT

NEAR ZUBAIR OBSERVED SEVERAL UNUSUAL OCCURRENCES DURING

1990          E.G., SHIPMENTS OF CYLINDRICAL PLASTIC

CAPS (POSSIBLY FOR STORAGE OF ARTILLERY SHELLS); ARTILLERY TEST

FIRING IN THE VICINITY OF THE PLANT; AND THE PRESENCE OF AT LEAST SIX

RAILROAD TANKERS MARKED "POISON GAS" ON THE COMPOUND. GUARDS AT THE

COMPOUND DID NOT UNDERGO CHEMICAL WARFARE DRILLS AND DID NOT CARRY

PROTECTIVE CLOTHING OR EQUIPMENT WITH THEM.

OBSERVED A LARGE NUMBER OF GOODS WHICH HAD BEEN LOOTED FROM KUWAIT,

INCLUDING CARS, CRANES, OFFICE FURNITURE, AND COMMERCIAL KITCHEN

EQUIPMENT. NEW CONSTRUCTION AT THE SITE WAS LIMITED, AND APPEARED TO

BE USING MOSTLY SCAVENGED MATERIALS. THERE WAS NO PERCEPTIBLE CHANGE

IN THE PLANT'S 24-HOUR PRODUCTION OPERATION

A DESCRIPTION OF THE ASMIDA COMPOUND IS PROVIDED.



TEXT: 1

THE ASMIDA FERTILIZER

FACTORY IN IRAQ. THE FACTORY IS LOCATED ON THE ROAD LEADING FROM THE

VILLAGE OF KHOR-AL-ZUBAIR (ABOUT 24 KILOMETERS (KM) SOUTH OF BASRAH)

TO THE PORT OF UMM QASR ON THE ARABIAN GULF. THE ASMIDA FACILITY

PRODUCES UREA FERTILIZER.



2. GENERAL DESCRIPTION: THE ASMIDA COMPOUND SEEMED TO BE

ROUGHLY SQUARE IN SHAPE, MEASURING AN ESTIMATED TWO KILOMETERS ON

EACH SIDE. IN ADDITION TO NUMEROUS ADMINISTRATIVE AND MAINTENANCE

BUILDINGS, THE FACILITY HAD TWO REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER PURIFICATION

BUILDINGS PLUS TANKS; A LARGE WHITE BUILDING, WITH ANTENNAS ON TOP

AND NO WINDOWS; AT LEAST SIX RAILROAD TANKER CARS MARKED "POISON

GAS"; A LARGE (BUNKERED) AMMONIA STORAGE TANK; TWO LARGE CONCRETE

SILOS; TWO BAGGING AND ASSEMBLY BUILDINGS; AND THE PRODUCTION LINES

-- OR "TRAINS" -- WITH FOUR CRACKING TOWERS. ASMIDA RECEIVED ITS

MAIN POWER SUPPLY FROM THE ELECTRIC POWER PLANT AT KARABH.







3. OBSERVATION OF UNUSUAL ACTIVITY: THREE ITEMS/OCCURRENCES

AT THE ASMIDA FACILITY



A. A NUMBER OF "UNUSUAL" OBJECTS          ON THE

RAILROAD TRANSPORT CARS OUTSIDE THE COMPOUND'S EASTERN FENCE. THE

OBJECTS APPEARED TO BE CYLINDRICAL PLASTIC "CAPS" ABOUT SIX INCHES IN

DIAMETER, WITH ROUNDED HANDLES ON TOP

IDENTIFIED THE ITEMS AS HOLDERS (OR RESTS) FOR ARTILLERY SHELLS







B. THE PRESENCE OF AT LEAST SIX, LARGE METAL RAILROAD-

CAR TANKS MARKED "POISON GAS". THE TANKS WERE LOCATED IN THE

SOUTHEAST CORNER OF THE FACILITY, NEXT TO THE AMMONIA STORAGE TANK,

AND WERE SURROUNDED BY A FENCE. THE SIX TANKS WERE PAINTED WHILTE

WITH RED LETTERS, AND DISPLAYED THE INTERNATIONAL SYMBOL FOR

"POISON".          THE NEWNESS OF THE TANKS CONTRASTED

MARKEDLY WITH THE REST OF THE ASMIDA FACILITY, AND THE TANKS SEEMED

TO HAVE ARRIVED FAIRLY RECENTLY (NFI). IT WAS NOT KNOWN IF THE TANKS

CONTAINED SOME FEEDSTOCK FOR THE FERTILIZER PRODUCTION PROCESS.)



C. SOUNDS OF LOUD FIRING AND EXPLOSIVES WERE

FREQUENTLY HEARD TO THE SOUTH OF THE FACILITY.







4. ABSENCE OF CHEMICAL PROTECTIVE GEAR: THE ASMIDA GUARDS

WERE NOT OBSERVED RECEIVING CHEMICAL WEAPONS (CW) PREPARATIVE

TRAINING, AND THEY DID NOT CARRY ANY SPECIAL PROTECTIVE CLOTHING OR

EQUIPMENT WITH THEM. THERE WERE NO DECONTAMINIATION FACILITIES

OBSERVED AT THE SITE. WESTERN HOSTAGES AT THE SITE WERE GIVEN

SPECIAL PROTECTIVE GAS MASKS, AND TOLD TO USE THEM IN THE EVENT OF A

CHEMICAL ATTACK.







5. NEW CONSTRUCTION: THERE WAS SOME LIMITED NEW CONSTRUCTION

UNDERWAY AT ASMID          THE IRAQI'S

APPEARED TO BE MAKING STRUCTURES TO HOUSE LARGE EQUIPMENT, SUCH AS

CRANES. THEY WERE USING SCAVENGED MATERIALS TO BUILD THE UNITS,

APPARENTLY OBTAINED FROM THE EXTENSIVE SCRAP METAL AND JUNK HEAPS

WHICH SURROUND THE ASMIDA FACILITY. NEW CONSTRUCTION WAS UNDERWAY

NEAR THE MAIN GATE AND MOTOR POOL.



6. PRESENCE OF LOOTED KUWAITI GOODS: ON VARIOUS OCCASIONS







OF A WIDE VARIETY OF VEHICLES AND PROPERTY          HAD

BEEN LOOTED FROM KUWAIT. MANY OF THE VEHIPLES HAD KUWAITI MARKINGS

AND WIRTING ON THEM. THE ITEMS OBSERVED INCLUDED KUWAITI CARS,

GARBAGE TRUCKS, CRANES, FACTORY EQUIPMENT, OFFICE FURNITURE, AND

COMMERCIAL KITCHEN EQUIPMENT. THE EQUIPMENT AND VEHICLES WERE PARKED

ALONG THE MAIN ROAD INTO THE ASMIDA COMPOUND, IN PLAIN VIEW.



 7. COMPOUND LAYOUT, DESCRIPTION:



A. THE MOST PROMINENT BUILDINGS ON THE COMPOUND WERE TWO

ENORMOUS SILOS, EACH ABOUT 250 FEET HIGH AND 75 FEET IN DIAMETER,

LOCATED AT THE CENTER OF THE COMPOUND. THE SILOS WERE MADE OF

UNPAINTED CONCRETE AND LOOKED LIKE FARM STORAGE SILOS.

THE

SILOS WERE PART OF THE FERTILIZER PRODUCTION PROCESS: AFTER

FORMULATING A TYPE OF POWDER FROM NATURAL GAS, THE POWDER WOULD BE

DROPPED INTO THE SILO. AS THE POWDER FELL, IT GREW IN SIZE, LIKE A

HAILSTONE.







B. IN THE SOUTHERN CORNER OF THE COMPOUND WAS A LARGE

WHITE BUILDING WITH NO WINDOWS, MEASURING ABOUT 200 FEET ON EACH

SIDE, AND TWO TO THREE FLOORS HIGH. THERE WERE DEVICES ON TOP OF THE

BUILDING WHICH APPEARED TO BE EITHER ANTENNAS OR POSSIBLY LIGHTNING

RODS. NO DOORS WERE EVER OPEN IN THIS BUILDING.

THE WHITE BUILDING CONTAINED A GENERATOR.



C. BESIDE THE WHITE BUILDING, TOWARD THE MAIN GATE, WERE

TWO LARGE REVERSE OSMOSIS WATER PURIFICATION CENTERS. THERE WERE AT

LEAST SIX LARGE WATER STORAGE TANKS ACROSS THE ROAD FROM THE WHITE

BUILDING. THE WATER PURIFICATION BUILDINGS SOMETIMES EMITTED A MIST

OVER THE COMPOUND.



D. AT THE EASTERN CORNER OF THE COMPOUND, NEAR THE REAR

ENTRANCE, WAS THE AMMONIA STORAGE TANK. IT MEASURED ABOUT 30-40 FEET

HIGH, AND ABOUT 100 FEET DIAMETER. THE TANK WAS BUNKERED BY A WALL

OF REINFORCED CONCRETE.          SPECULATED THAT A

LARGE CRATER BEHIND THE EXISTING AMMONIA TANK HAD CONTAINED ANOTHER

AMMONIA TANK WHICH WAS DESTROYED, POSSIBLY DURING THE IRAN-IRAQ WAR.



E. NEXT TO THE AMMONIA TANK WERE SIX POISON GAS STORAGE

TANKS, IN METAL RAILROAD-CAR SIZE TANKS. THE TANKS WERE FENCED IN.



F. NORTH OF THE STORAGE TANKS ALONG THE COMPOUND PERIMETER

WERE TWO LARGE BUILDINGS WHERE BAGGING AND ASSEMBLY APPARENTLY TOOK

PLACE. THE BUILDINGS MEASURED 300 C FEET BY 700-800 FEET, AND WERE

BETWEEN TWO AND FOUR FLOORS HIGH. WHEN THE DOORS WERE OPEN, MASSIVE

PILES OF UNBAGGED FERTILIZER COULD BE SEEN ON THE FLOOR. THERE WERE

CONVEYOR BELTS LEADING INTO AND OUT OF THE BUILDINGS. THE BUILDING

CLOSEST TO THE FENCE ALSO HAD A COVERED CONVEYOR BELT WHICH EXTENDED

OVER THE FENCE TO THE RAILROAD LOADING PLATFORM, FOR LOADING BAGGED

FERTILIZER ONTO THE TRAINS.







I. THE TWO PRIMARY ASSEMBLY LINES AND FERTILIZER

FABRICATION AREA WERE IN THE COUMPOUND INTERIOR

THE TWO ASSEMBLY LINES, OR "TRAINS," WERE

IDENTICAL. EACH TRAIN HAD TWO CRACKING TOWERS AND ITS OWN TWO-FLOOR

CONTROL BUILDING. A SERIES OF DUCTS AND PIPES LED FROM THE CRACKING

TOWERS TO THE CENTRAL SILOS.



J. THERE WAS A LABORATORY BUILDING NEAR THE MAIN GATE,

DEVOTED TO QUALITY CONTROL TESTING







END OF MESSAGE







1.5 (c)

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