Robot malfunction delays test at incinerator

By Brian Lyman
Star Staff Writer
03-16-2005

Monday it was a pump. Tuesday it was a robot. After two days of maintenance problems, officials hope a scheduled test burn at the Anniston Chemical Weapons Disposal Facility will get under way today. The burn, a mandatory test of emissions and processing rate at the facility, was delayed Tuesday. A machine that removes blaster caps and a robot that drains chemical agent out of projectiles had mechanical difficulties. “We’re a little frustrated,” said Jim Martin, the Army’s deputy site project manager for compliance. “We fully expect everything to go well tomorrow, but we want these things to go well. We go through a checklist, and make sure everything is ready to go.” The burn is planned for the Metal Parts Furnace, which processes eight-inch artillery shells. After agent is removed from the munitions, the furnace burns out remaining agent in the shells. Crews discovered the problems Monday night and worked on the machines during the day. The problem with the machine that removes blaster caps was minor, Martin said. The robot was located on the multipurpose demilitarization machine, which pulls bursters from the shells and drains the sarin. The robot needed a new part, Martin said. Crews had both machines ready by mid-afternoon. “We could have started later today, but the decision was made, ‘Let’s start fresh in the morning, and we’ll have everybody fresh,” Martin said. The test burn stopped Monday after a pump in a pollution-cleaning system lost power. The problem did not affect the Metal Parts Furnace, but officials decided to stop the burn in the interests of safety and proper data gathering. The pumps were fixed by Tuesday morning. “It’s just kind of unfortunate,” Martin said. “With the mechanical equipment, sometimes you have these things happen, and they happened.” Alabama Department of Environmental Management officials are monitoring the burn, which will measure emissions from the furnace and determine how many shells at a time can be fed through.

About Brian Lyman

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