To clarify, this is an unusual error, which doesn't seem related to atom types (like if you just mistyped Phosphorus, which is easy enough to do!), as in that case the file wouldn't run but just return a Python error. This is a C++ error, and might instead indicate a corrupt NetCDF file or something similar.
If you have possibility, I strongly recommend you to upgrade to VNL and ATK 2008.10. You don't specify which ATK version you use, but I assume it's an older version.