Maintenance issue prompts stoppage of test burn at depot

By Brian Lyman
Star Staff Writer
03-15-2005

A maintenance problem forced a test burn at the Anniston Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility to stop on Monday. State and federal law requires the burn in the Metal Parts Furnace, currently processing 8-inch sarin filled artillery shells. Crews Monday were prepared to perform routine maintenance on a backup brine pump in the facility’s pollution abatement system when they cut power to the main pump. The pump, which supplies a solution that neutralizes acid emissions from the facility, was removed from the Metal Parts Furnace, said Tim Garrett, the Army project site manager. The process stopped, Garrett said, because they wanted the data gathered from the burn to be “conclusive” and not affected by outside issues, including mechanical difficulties. “We’ll go again in the morning,” Garrett said. “We erred on the side of caution. We want to make sure the data collected is acceptable.” Crews were working on the pump Monday afternoon. The test burn measures emissions from the furnace and eventually will establish a feed rate for munitions passing through it. Eighty-one shells, separated into three trays, went through the furnace before the test burn stopped. “It did not cause any kind of safety concern,” said Clint Niemeyer, a spokesman with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management. “I think you could fairly say it was aggravating to some of the folks up there.” The facility’s liquid incinerator and deactivation furnace, used to destroy the Army Depot’s M55 sarin rockets, were tested in 2003 and 2004. The test burn is expected to take seven to 10 days.

About Brian Lyman

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