Clausen is a municipality in

Südwestpfalz Südwestpfalz (, ) is a district (''Kreis'' or more precise ''Landkreis'') in the south of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Neighboring districts are (from west clockwise) Saarpfalz, the district-free city Zweibrücken, the districts Kaiserslautern a ...

district, in

Rhineland-Palatinate Rhineland-Palatinate ( , ; ; ; ) is a western state of Germany. It covers and has about 4.05 million residents. It is the ninth largest and sixth most populous of the sixteen states. Mainz is the capital and largest city. Other cities are ...

, western

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. Clausen belongs to the local association community of

Rodalben Rodalben () is a municipality in the Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It is situated in the Palatinate forest, approx. 5 km northeast of Pirmasens. Rodalben is the seat of the ''Verbandsgemeinde'' ("collective munici ...

The US Army's 330th Ordnance Company maintained the then classified stocks of GB and VX nerve gas located at Site 59 in Clausen. 110th Military Police company was in charge of guarding the site with a 42 man guard force. The nerve agents at Site 59 were removed under

Operation Steel Box Operation Steel Box, also known as Operation Golden Python (German name for the transport in Germany: Aktion Lindwurm), was a 1990 joint U.S.–West German operation which moved over 100,000 U.S. chemical weapons from Germany to Johnston Atoll. B ...

in 1990. These shells were poorly maintained and had numerous leaks from the caustic chemicals that they contained. In addition, the fence line was supposedly sprayed with Agent Orange to deter weeds. A maintenance program in 1979 removed a number of broken shells and replaced the gaskets on those that were still uncompromised. The shells were transported by truck, rail and ship ultimately ending up at

Johnston Atoll Johnston Atoll is an Unincorporated territories of the United States, unincorporated territory of the United States, under the jurisdiction of the United States Air Force (USAF). The island is closed to public entry, and limited access for mana ...

for incineration at the

Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System Johnston Atoll Chemical Agent Disposal System (JACADS) was the U.S. Army's first chemical munitions disposal facility. It was located on Johnston Island, at Johnston Atoll and completed its mission and ceased operation in 2000. Background Prior ...

facility. Site 59 was sold and the bunkers were used to grow mushrooms. The area also had solar panels added for power generation. There is a 2.5 ton truck buried under the circular area used as a heliport - the truck was stolen from Pirmasens' base and used for spare parts during an inspection in 1976. A M151 Jeep in also buried next to the nearby bunker. When the US military began to downsize in the 1990s, the small US Army posts associated with

Husterhoeh Kaserne Husterhoeh Kaserne was a military facility in Pirmasens, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Kaserne is a German language, German loanword that means "barracks." It was a United States military base 1945–1994. Since then it is a Bundeswehr, German ...

(

Pirmasens Pirmasens (; (also ''Bermesens'' or ''Bärmasens'')) is an independent town in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, near the border with France. It was famous for the manufacture of shoes. The surrounding rural district was called ''Landkreis Pirmasens ...

) were returned to Germany, including ones located at

Maßweiler Maßweiler is a municipality in Südwestpfalz district, in Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany. Maßweiler possessed a large cavern that had been used by Nazis in World War II. There were supposedly five levels in the cave, the lowest of which ...

, Munchweiler, Fischbach, and Clausen. This site is currently used as a combination mushroom farm and solar energy site. A large number of former soldiers, who worked at Site 59, report illnesses consistent with nerve gas exposure. The US Veterans Administration has denied all claims for conditions related to exposure to date. These soldiers often have unexplained rashes, anxiety and diabetes. There were multiple maintenance programs to maintain the shells and to dispose of any with severe leaks. The last maintenance program prior to this site closing terminated in 1981. When Operation Steel Box removed the shells in 1990, multiple shells were found to have leaks. Clausen's primary industry is agricultural though it is a short drive to Pirmasens. It is located nearby the recreation area Clausensee and the area has many opportunities for outdoor recreation. The fields east of Clausen contain many concrete tank barriers remaining from WWII.

References

Municipalities in Rhineland-Palatinate Palatinate Forest Südwestpfalz {{Südwestpfalz-geo-stub