Associated Press
August 9, 2003

Army plans to start destroying chemical weapons at Alabama incinerator

ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) -- The Army plans to start destroying Cold War-era chemical weapons Saturday at its incinerator near Anniston, the first time the military has burned the deadly munitions near a populated area.

The timetable to start destroying the chemical weapons came Friday after a judge in Washington rejected motions by opponents to delay it. The incinerator will begin operations Saturday morning unless weather or other factors cause a delay, incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams said.

The Army plans only "limited burns" on weekends and between 6 p.m. and 6 a.m. on weekdays until certain schools and other community buildings near the incinerator are provided with safety pressurization this fall.
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Opponents say incineration raises too great a risk near homes and schools -- about 35,000 people live in the "pink zone" within 9 miles of the Army site, which is about 50 miles east of Alabama's most populous city, Birmingham.

Workers began moving rockets into the furnace area Friday night for destruction Saturday morning.

The Army's decision came only hours after U.S. District Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling cleared the way for burning to begin.

After the judge's decision, Sharon McConathy took her granddaughter to pick up safety gear being provided to thousands of Anniston-area people -- protective hoods that resemble gas masks and plastic sheeting to seal up a room in her mobile home in the event of an accident.

"It's real scary," McConathy said. "I think they're putting everybody at risk."

The Army and others in the Anniston area contend it is far safer to burn the chemical weapons than leave them in the concrete bunkers at the depot.

Environmentalists had asked Jackson first for a temporary restraining order and then a preliminary injunction blocking the startup, but he denied both. He said their arguments were "purely speculative" and they had not shown sufficiently that "harm will flow."

Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group, which filed for the restraining order, said it may take days to decide if the ruling will be appealed.

"It's a sad day for those in Anniston and for this nation when our government is unwilling to prevent U.S. citizens from exposure to toxic chemicals," Williams said.

The Army had planned to begin destroy some 2,254 tons of nerve agents and mustard gas this past Wednesday, a project expected to take seven years. But the military agreed to a delay so the hearing before Jackson could be held.

Sherri Sumners, president of the Calhoun County Chamber of Commerce, said a few opponents have created hysteria among some in the community.

"They have been told so much and heard so much," Sumners said. "Incineration is a lot better than letting it sit out there."

She expects most community fears to subside after the incinerator has operated safety for a couple of months.

Betty Wall, who lives outside of the pink zone, went to pick up her safety gear after seeing news reports Friday that the incinerator was about to begin operating.

"You just don't know what's going to happen," she said. "People just need to get right with the Lord."

David Ford, a spokesman with the county Emergency Management Agency, said about 3,300 people have picked up safety gear this week at an old military building where it is being given out free, but Friday was slow.

"We don't know how many are left who want it," he said.

He said about 6,000 of the protective hoods remain to be given out.

Williams' group advocates another method of destruction called chemical neutralization, but the Army contends incineration is just as safe. About 7 percent of the nation's stockpile of Cold War-era chemical weapons is in Anniston.