Tue, Mar. 9, 2004

Army names team to study chemical weapons transport
Saturday, Jan 29, 2005

By Alison Vekshin
Stephens Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON -- The U.S. Army this week named a team to study the possibility of moving aging chemical weapons to be destroyed at sites like the Pine Bluff Arsenal.

The study is part of a Defense Department initiative to meet a 2012 international treaty deadline to destroy the U.S. chemical weapons stockpile stored at eight sites.

"The technical assessment is in an early stage," Michael Parker, director of the Army Chemical Materials Agency, said in a statement issued Thursday.

"It is too early to speculate what will be included in the assessment," he said. "Safety of our workers, our communities and our environment will not be compromised."

The Army has built disposal facilities at six of the eight sites, including at the Pine Bluff Arsenal. The study would explore the idea of transporting chemical agents among the sites.

The Army announced that Kevin Duvall, acting director of its Cooperative Threat Reduction Support Directorate, will lead the study.

The team will include representatives from the Army Chemical Materials Agency, the Defense Department, the Army Corps of Engineers and the Army Research, Development and Engineering Command.

The Army is required to report its findings by March 21.

The possibility that chemical agents could be transported has been met with criticism from lawmakers and community activists.

Sen. Wayne Allard, R-Colo., this week introduced legislation barring the Defense Department from spending funds on any studies into transporting chemical weapons across state lines. His home state contains the Pueblo Chemical Depot, which has not begun destruction of its stockpile.

Sens. Blanche Lincoln and Mark Pryor, both D-Ark., said this week they thought the proposal was worth studying.

The Pine Bluff Arsenal houses an incinerator plant scheduled to begin destroying its 12 percent of the nation's chemical weapons stockpile next month.

As of Wednesday, the military has destroyed 35 percent of its stockpile, according to the Army.