Anniston Star
March 21, 2003

Business continues as usual in chemical demilitarization program

By Jason Landers
Star Staff Writer
03-21-2003

America's own chemical weapons disposal program took the day after war broke in Iraq with a business-as-usual stride.

"We are under normal operations," said Anniston Army Depot spokeswoman Joan Gustafson regarding the heightened state of security that has become routine since Sept. 11, 2001. "Nothing has changed since the onset of hostilities last night in Iraq."

As United States and British troops move to forcefully disarm Saddam Hussein, Army officials in the demilitarization program back home were at a standstill.

Delay is business as usual for a variety of reasons that Army officials say has nothing to do with war in Iraq. There are legal hurdles to contend with and community readiness benchmarks to meet before weapons will be processed.

Take the Army's only fully permitted destruction facility, for instance. Operations in Tooele, Utah, stopped last July after a maintenance worker was exposed to sarin nerve agent. The worker returned to work the next day. The facility hasn't resumed burning weapons since.

Destruction operations in Anniston, in Tooele, Utah, Umatilla, Ore., Aberdeen, Md., and Newport, Ind., are set to begin sometime this year. Typically, however, as a start date approaches, something pops up to push it back.

The U.S. holds roughly 40 percent of the worldwide total of nerve and blister agent. Russia has about 50 percent. While Washington is outpacing its former rival in disposing of the weapons, neither country is keeping the pace needed to meet a looming 2007 deadline. Both likely will ask for a five-year extension, and officials have said that might not provide enough time.

Officials connected with the program stole brief glimpses at television news reports Thursday.

"We are certainly monitoring world events and keeping a close eye on what's going on," said Mickey Morales, an Army spokesman for the Chemical Materials Agency. But other than tuning in more often to news reports, he said, there was little noticeable difference.

"We have been at a high level of security since 9-11," Morales said. "We have a large contingent of troops at each of our stockpile sites to ensure the chemicals are safely stored and secure." No additional security buildup is anticipated, he said.

There are eight stockpile sites in the U.S., including Anniston.

Mike Abrams, an Army spokesman at the Anniston facility, monitored the war from a television in his office. Last November, the contractor that operates the facility, Westinghouse Anniston, hooked up a satellite dish that allowed television reception at the facility for the first time.

Stuck in standstill mode and catching brief glimpses of the flashing news reports, Abrams talked about the work force's readiness to get on with the job.

"We still have a mission to do," Abrams said. "We are still working toward that mission. We don't see any noticeable changes at the site today in terms of our work force."

So as U.S. troops move to reduce the threat of an alleged chemical weapons arsenal in Iraq, the Westinghouse work force and the Army prepare to do the same in Anniston.

"We are all focused," Abrams said. "We are all working toward mission accomplishment."