ADEM compliance

In our opinion
04-22-2004

The violations of state environmental law on the part of the Army's chemical weapons incinerator are, according to project manager Tim Garrett, "primarily administrative in nature." Given the alternatives, that is good news. Garrett assures us that the findings by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM)  "do not pose a risk to the public, the work force or the environment." This is surely better than violations that do pose health risks, but only by degrees. Violations of ADEM regulations--be they unmarked containers of hazardous waste or lax paperwork filing or unobserved alarms--do damage to the trust of the public, which is such an important part of the mission at the chemical weapons incinerator. The public should expect nothing less than full ADEM compliance, especially from a project as sensitive as the destruction of these lethal stockpiles. We're heartened by vows from the Army and private contractor Westinghouse to fully review the cited violations.

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