Arkansas Democrat Gazette
December 10, 2002

Arsenal's arms burner ready: Army expects to fire up incinerator near Pine Bluff in '04

BY KIM McGUIRE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

WHITE HALL - Construction of the incinerator at the Pine Bluff Arsenal is now complete, clearing the way for the elimination of its supply of chemical weapons, 12 percent of the nation's stockpile.

If all goes as planned, the incineration of those weapons will begin in April 2004.

About 120 people toured the facility Tuesday during an open house commemorating the completion of the $300 million facility. The Pine Bluff Arsenal is one of five sites in the nation where the chemical weapons will be incinerated to meet the mandates of an international accord.

"Today, it could be said, is the end of the beginning of the very important work that must be done here," said Col. Mark Henscheid, commander of the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

By 2010, the Army intends to destroy the arsenal's aging, World War II-era stockpile, which includes 90,231 M55 rockets filled with GB nerve agent and 19,582 M55 rockets filled with VX agent.

The United States is supposed to destroy much of its chemical weapon reserves by 2007, a deadline set by the International Chemical Weapons Convention of 1997.

Army officials, however, expect the deadline will be pushed back to 2012. With the temporary closure of an incinerator in Tooele, Utah, the Army will need the extra time, said Delbert Bunch, deputy program manager for the branch of the Army overseeing the chemical demilitarization effort.

"Right now, we're on track to hit that deadline [2012], but honestly it's not going as fast as I would like," Bunch said.

Several military officials and community leaders cited the need to expeditiously destroy the nation's stockpile in light of the terrorist attacks on the United States and the possibility of war with Iraq.

Jim Bacon, former program manager for the Army's chemical demilitarization program, said the attacks have increased support for the program - the incineration of chemical weapons being the most controversial component.

"Sept. 11 causes us all to become much more keenly aware of chemical weapons," Bacon said.

"We in the Army have always be attuned to the risks associated with storing these weapons, but I think the public is much more aware now. It really brought people together to realize the sense of urgency there is to destroy these weapons."

Nationally, environmental groups, the military and community activists have debated for years whether the burning of chemical weapons can be done in a safe manner. Opponents say the risk for harmful, even deadly, air emissions during the burning process is too great.

Recently, the National Research Council concluded that it's far riskier to store the nation's chemical weapon stockpile than to incinerate it.

The council, a nonprofit group that often advises Congress, studied 12 years of incineration operations at two plants - the facility in Tooele and another in the Pacific Ocean. It identified 40 instances of accidental chemical releases.

But the researchers found that those breaches did not threaten people living nearby and that chemicals made it outside the plant on only three occasions.

The Chemical Weapons Working Group, a Kentuckybased organization opposed to the incineration of chemical weapons, disputed the report, arguing that the research council failed to consider many details of the incineration process that would have painted a far more dangerous picture.

"For anyone to accept this report as either accurate or objective would be a mistake," said Craig Williams, executive director of the group. "Unfortunately, it is the citizens living near the incinerators who will bear the consequences of its failures."

Residents of White Hall and Pine Bluff, for the most part, have been extremely supportive of the incinerator project - a theme echoed time and time again during the ceremony Tuesday.

Many bemoaned the departure of some of the 900 construction workers who have been toiling at the facility since construction began in early 1999. More than 600 people will staff the facility once it's operational.

Numerous accolades for safety also were given to the Washington Demilitarization Co. of Philadelphia, which won the lucrative contract to construct, operate and close the facility.

"There is a tremendous amount of trust in this facility," said Don Morrow, chairman of the Arkansas Citizen Advisory Commission, which acts as a liaison between the Army and community. "I know not everyone is happy, but the vast majority of people want to see these chemicals gone."

With construction now complete, the Army is in the "systemization " phase at the facility - a test drive of sorts - making sure all the equipment works.

Systemization will culminate with a series of trial burns planned for next summer. During those tests, a surrogate material, typically a dry-cleaning agent and a solvent used in septic tank cleaners, will be used. It is often more difficult to destroy than the real chemical agent.

Those burns, just like the tests, will be closely monitored by the Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality. Henscheid said he expects the facility will have no problems complying with state and federal environmental regulations.

"I am confident that as the demilitarization operation goes through and there is the safe disposal of chemical weapons, this arsenal and this community will be rewarded for being outstanding environmental stewards," he said.

The Army has considered building a second facility at the arsenal to destroy mustard gas entombed there. That system would neutralize, rather than burn, the chemical agent, which accounts for about 83 percent of the stockpile.

The neutralization process converts the dangerous chemicals into less-hazardous byproducts by safely reacting them with hot water and sodium hydroxide.

Incineration opponents like the Chemical Weapons Working Group consider neutralization a much safer, less costly process. It will be used to destroy stockpiles in Aberdeen, Md.; Newport, Ind.; and Pueblo, Colo.

For now, though, incineration is the only method of disposal officially scheduled at the arsenal.

"There are a variety of technologies used in the destruction process, but the key is always safety, protecting the environment regardless of what kind of science you use," Bunch said. "Certainly, incineration technologies have proven safe and meet those requirements."

During the tour of the facility, officials pointed out numerous safety features, including several air locks, decontamination rooms, and 28-inch thick steel-reinforced walls.

Thirty-two man crews working 12-hour shifts monitor the entire process - from the time the munitions enter the building to the time incineration is complete.

"If we were doing something bad down here," said Jay Whitlock, operations manager for the facility, "I wouldn't have my family living in Pine Bluff."