Anniston chemical weapons incinerator starts back up

The Associated Press
June 22, 2004

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An Army official said the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator resumed operations Tuesday after sitting idle since June 2 for a scheduled maintenance period.

Army spokesman Mike Abrams said the incinerator was set to start burning nerve agent-filled munitions Monday, but an unforeseen repair in the deactivation furnace pushed the schedule back until Tuesday.

The incinerator has burned all the non-leaking, drainable sarin-filled rockets in the Anniston Army Depot's chemical weapons stockpile since August 2003. Incinerator officials said the destroyed rockets represent more than 40 percent of the stockpile of rockets filled with sarin and VX or nerve agent.

The Alabama Department of Environmental Management has yet to approve burns of non-drainable or gelled sarin rockets.

Abrams said the incinerator will burn only the leaking, drainable rockets until approval is given.