ABC News
August 11, 2003

Anniston ABC

This weekend in Anniston, the army is destroying the first of more than a half a million of its chemical weapons.
     
For the residents, the burning will be a regular part of their lives...for 7 years.     The army will incinerate eight more of its crumbling M-55 rockets.  filled with more than enough nerve gas to wipe out the city.  There are thousands of them.  Here, left over from the cold war.
     
Concerned residents, who lost a court battle to stop the burn, are now pouring into an emergency preparedeness center, searching for peace of mind.  Instead, they are tagged, given duct tape, sheeting and plastic hoods.  Before they leave, they have to prove they know how to use them.  

Many of the town's 35,000 residents live downwind of the incinerator, and they worry it will poison the air.  The weapons contain sarin, mustard gas and other deadly chemicals.Before they're burned, these corroded warheads must be unpacked and moved three miles.  The weapons were weapons were manufactured 40 years ago.  Some of them are leaking, so they've got to go.  

But the incineration wasn't supposed to start until October.  The city is not yet adequately prepared in the event chemicals are released into the air.  It has not yet finished sealing the ventilation system for 28 of its schools, and for some.  Students classes begin tomorrow.  They said everybody would get hoods.  The army insists that the incinerator is safe.  But many residents aren't buying it.  Next week they'll protest again.