Associated Press
October 9, 2003

Army weapons depot scrap dealer to stop sales amid questions

The Associated Press
10/9/03 12:04 PM

ANNISTON, Ala. (AP) -- A scrap dealer said he will no longer sell old barrels from the Army's chemical weapons incinerator after two 55-gallon drums were discovered on a creek bank earlier this week.

Army contractor Westinghouse Anniston said it sent the 55-gallon containers to Shorty's Southern Yard for recycling. But the drums -- one of which was empty, the other which contained a small amount of liquid -- were spotted near Choccolocco Creek.

The drums were taken to the Army's chemical weapons center for testing and disposal. Nelson Bates, emergency management director for Talladega County, said the Army will give the EMA a written report.

Donovan Mager, a spokesman for Westinghouse Anniston, said the barrels were free of any contaminants. They originally held plastic bottles of chemicals used in test burns at the incinerator, Westinghouse officials said.

The bottles and bags in the drums were burned and the contents never touched the drums, Mager said.

Shorty's owner Jim Griffin said it was unclear whether the drums found along the creek came from his business.

"If it did come from my yard, somebody stole it or we sold it for somebody to burn trash in," he told The Anniston Star in a story Thursday. "We do that a lot."

Griffin said Shorty's no longer will sell any of the barrels.

"Not any more, not after this happened," he said. "We don't make any money on them at $3 apiece."

The incinerator does not have documents that could be used to track the drums, said Mager.

"That's not required under the code," he said. "They're definitely not categorized as hazardous waste."

If it were hazardous waste, he said, the barrels would have been accompanied by a manifest that would track them "cradle to grave."

He said that in the future, all scrap drums will have labels removed and will be crushed.