Fifteen year old mustard gas insignificant while sixty year old mustard gas serious

After hundreds of canisters of mustard gas were found in Iraq, liberals downplayed the significance saying it was old and degraded. Today there is a story from Reuters about the ongoing project of the US destroying its mustard gas stockpile from WWII. When you read the Reuters story which is no doubt intended to focus on the fact that the US has chemical weapons. This is no secret, of course, but the MSM never misses an opportunity to give the US a knock.

The people disposing of this 60 year old mustard gas seem to be taking it very seriously:

Much of the round-the-clock process of removing explosive fuses, draining and then incinerating liquid chemical agents is automated. But workers in fully enclosed protective chemical suits regularly enter potentially deadly areas to repair, update and clean.

On a recent day, Rod Hollum, 51, and Nick Crosby, 27, donned masks, a backpack with an eight-minute back-up air supply and a white, vinyl suit fully sealed against the air but linked to outside oxygen.

...

"You're encapsulated inside," said Marc McLaws, a worker who helped Hollum and Crosby suit up.

"Some people get claustrophobic," he added. "Heat stress is a problem. You're constantly sweating. You can lose six or seven pounds over the two hours."

Before the two enter the area of potential exposure, they receive a briefing. "We either stirred something up, you guys did cleaning, or there is something," the briefer said about a hose leaking mustard agent. "Be extremely careful."

...

Being completely sealed in vinyl poses other risks. Half a year ago, one suited worker suffered a heart attack. "We had to cut him out," said McLaws, who said tearing through the single-use, $275 suit took three minutes. "It was a good result though: he lived."

Sounds like some serious stuff. I am no expert and it may be that the US has better storage processes than Iraq. If not, then I would find it odd how much more seriously the far older material is being treated.