Anniston Star
June 9, 2003

Time to burn the stockpile

In our opinion
06-09-2003

So the word has come down form Washington. The Defense Department and all the other relevant entities have given the go ahead to start the incinerator at the Anniston Army Depot.

That's the incinerator, of course, that is set to destroy some 2,000 tons of the most lethal material known.

Now, as soon as some local and state officails agree to the plan - that's means mostly the governor and the Calhoun County Commission - the incinerator can begin operations.

Just last week the mayors of Calhoun County spoke loud and clear when they signed a
petition urging the quick destruction of the chemical weapons located at the Anniston Army Depot.

It is time, they are saying, to rid the area of this danger once and for all. They recognize that the stockpile is old and unstable. They know the deadly VX, GB and mustard agents pose a great danger just by sitting there. They understand that every day the stockpile continues to sit there is another day when an accident can occur.

It is better, far better, the mayors are saying, to go ahead and burn the weapons than to wait any longer.

We certainly hope the commission members feel the same way and we urge them and the governor to endorse a move forward with the plan and not to put up any more barriers to the beginning of the incineration process.

Our major collective concern is, of course, the danger of stockpile. It is vulnerable. Anyone ought to be able to understand that, especially in the wake of Sept. 11, the hellacius tornadoes that screamed through the county in the spring and an earthquake that shook our area recently.

But we must all realize that the image and economic health of this community will not get any better until the stockpile is gone.

The minute the destruction process begins, the danger to the community will start falling and the prospects of renewed economic prosperity will start rising.

If you have any interest in seeing Calhoun County come back, then you'll want to see these weapons destroyed and destroyed in the quickest, safest way possible.

The way to achieve that is through incineration.

This issue has held us back for far too long. Now is the time then, to get under way. Now is the time to start putting it all behind us.