Last of 155-mm shells destroyed

By Brian Lyman
Star Staff Writer
06-03-2005

The Army on Wednesday completed another step in the destruction of all sarin-filled weapons at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility. Crews destroyed the last of the 155-mm artillery shells stored at Anniston Army Depot, and are starting preparations to destroy 105-mm shells stored at the site. “I think things went very well for the 155s,” said Tim Garrett, the Army Project Site Manager for the Disposal Facility. “We’ll be able to process the 105s at a faster rate, because you can put more in a tray.” Workers are retooling the facility to accept the new rounds. The new processing should begin by early July. Secondary waste from completed processing, such as containers used to store overpacked munitions, currently is being destroyed. The Metals Parts Furnace, which burns agent residue out of emptied shells, could take 48 155-mm shells at a time; workers will be able to feed 96 105-mm shells at a time into the furnace when processing resumes. But Garrett said there are more 105-mm shells in stock. The campaign to destroy them probably will wrap up in early to mid-December, he said. A total of 9,600 155-mm shells were destroyed in the latest campaign, which began in late April. The facility has destroyed 66,193 weapons since August 2003, including 42,762 sarin-filled rockets and warheads and 13,831 eight-inch shells — roughly 15 percent of the entire stockpile. The disposal facility has 2,200 8-inch shells in storage in case the state Department of Environmental Management wants more testing on the main furnace. Garrett said those rounds will be destroyed in early July.

About Brian Lyman

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