Associated Press
August 28, 2003

Army to Begin Burning Sarin in Ala.


JAY REEVES
Associated Press

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Army said Thursday it will destroy about 800 gallons of sarin nerve agent in the first bulk burn of the lethal chemical at the Army's newest weapons incinerator.

Workers will begin pumping the agent Sunday from a double-walled, glass-lined holding tank into a 2,700-degree furnace at Anniston Army Depot, about 50 miles east of Birmingham.

The chemical, also known as GB, was drained from nearly 600 M55 rockets that have been chopped up and burned since the incinerator began operating on Aug. 8. A single drop of sarin can kill a person.

Up to 173 gallons of nerve agent residue has already been incinerated, but always in small amounts, incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams said.

While other depots also burn sarin, the work this weekend will mark the first time the Army has burned a large amount of nerve agent near a populated area. Emergency planners say some 35,000 people live within nine miles of the incinerator.

While the incinerator normally could destroy such a large amount of chemical in a few hours, Abrams said the operation will move slowly initially, possibly taking 12 hours.

Incineration opponent Craig Williams said the Anniston area has yet to receive all the promised safeguards against an accident at the incinerator. "All we can try to do is get some adult supervision down there," he said.

The military contends incinerating the weapons is far safer than storing them. Some 2,254 tons of Cold War-era chemical weapons are stored in dirt-covered concrete bunkers at the depot, which houses about 7 percent of the nation's chemical stockpile. The United States agreed to destroy the weapons under an international treaty.