Incinerator reaches 13 percent destruction of stockpiled chemical agent

By Brian Lyman
Star Staff Writer
03-05-2005

Although preparations for a test burn this week briefly halted metal disposal, the Anniston Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility continued to reduce the Anniston Army Depot’s stockpile of chemical weapons. Crews destroyed 1,485 8-inch artillery projectiles between Feb. 25 and Thursday, and disposed of 1,340 gallons (6,133 pounds) of chemical agent. Since it began operations, the facility has destroyed 52,678 chemical weapons and 61,892 gallons of chemical agent (563,217 pounds). The facility had approximately 4 million pounds of chemical agent when disposal operations began in August 2003. To date, the facility has destroyed 13 percent of the chemical agent and about 8 percent of the munitions. Weapons processing was halted Tuesday in order to conduct preliminary activities for a test burn tentatively scheduled for March 14. Projectiles continued to be disassembled, but none were fed into the facility’s Metal Parts Furnace. Around the country, the Tooele Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility had destroyed 995,513 weapons and 14.6 million pounds of chemical agent through Feb. 27. The facility, which began operations in 1996, has destroyed 87 percent of its agent stockpile and 53 percent of its munitions. Crews there currently are destroying VX mines. The Utah base has destroyed more than 1 million munitions, counting work done at a nearby Army lab prior to the facility’s opening. “At Deseret (Chemical Depot) we have a test and research facility,” Tooele spokeswoman Elaine Southworth said, “and at that location we had already destroyed over 40,000 munitions.” The Umatilla Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility in Oregon processed no weapons between Thursday, Feb. 24, and Wednesday. Crews there are repairing a deactivation furnace and a conveyor. “We’ve had challenges as we’ve brought it up to get it moving again,” said Mary Binder, a spokeswoman for the Umatilla Facility. She said she did not know when processing would start again. The Army will begin disposal operations at Pine Bluff, Ark., later this month. A disposal facility in Newport, Ind., is scheduled to begin operations sometime this year.

About Brian Lyman

Brian Lyman covers infrastructure and the cities of Heflin and Lincoln for the Anniston Star. He lives in Anniston.