Anniston Star
August 9, 2002

Increased risk? Residents criticize Army, Westinghouse over incinerator changes

By Matthew Creamer
Star Staff Writer

It was hot enough to burn nerve agent for Army officials Thursday as they met withering
criticism at a public meeting concerning recently announced schedule changes at the Army's
chemical weapons incinerator.

Many of the approximately 30 residents who attended the meeting chastised Army and
Westinghouse representatives for making significant changes to long-time plans just months before the facility is expected to begin burning nerve-agent filled rockets.

Some used emotional language, beseeching the Army to abandon a plan it has admitted will pose an increased risk to the community while shaving time off its schedule.

"Y'all are days away from firing up in that incinerator and all of a sudden you want a new permit and you're changing the game plan," said Sherry Blanton of Jacksonville. "What is to be gained from the six-months-shorter time period? I want to sleep better tonight. Tell me the specifics."

The meeting was nominally about a possible plan to remove explosive parts from artillery shells so they can burned at the same time as M55 rockets. But it occurred as the incinerator's management is taking criticism from local and congressional officials for a separate plan, called complimentary processing, that will increase statistical risk.

The increased risk is the result of a proposed delay in the startup of the incinerator's destruction of VX rockets that would result from the front-loading of GB munitions. Because the igloos they are stored in could be prone to catch fire from a lightning strike, the VX rockets are the riskiest weapons stored at the depot

A co-processing plan, which would require the reconfiguration of artillery shells, would eliminate the delay, but the Army has not said what effect such a plan would have on the statistical risk analyses that typically guide their strategy. The reconfiguration would require the removal of the shells' explosives prior to their being moved to the plant for destruction.

Both of these plans are the result of anticipated delays in burning rockets filled with GB, or sarin nerve agent, that has solidified during decades of storage.

Reconfiguration will require a major permit modification from the Alabama Department of
Environmental Management. The Army said that it has not decided whether it will request the modification and that it will make the decision on risk and hazard analyses yet to be performed.

Incinerator officials said the plans are not meant to delay the VX rocket campaign but to introduce more flexibility into the facility. "Our primary focus remains the rockets," said Westinghouse's Ken Ankrom. "We're concerned about delays in processing gelled rockets."

The meeting was called to gauge the public's reaction, and judging by those who spoke up, the message was clear: Don't do it.

"Any modification that results in an increase in risk is unacceptable," said Jacksonville's Rufus Kinney.

"If it increases the risk, shelve it," said Bynum's Keith Howland. "Save it for down the road."

Preston Gray, the former Westinghouse site manager who now is running for state senate,
echoed this, complaining that not enough information on the risk increase has been released.

"I'm not convinced that that's the only increase in risk you face," he said. "Just don't request this modification, and press on with the original plan."

Better attended than most recent public sessions on the issue, the meeting spilled over its allotted two hours. But whether the public's sentiment will have any impact on Army decisions is unclear. Incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams said that the comments will be considered, as will input from ADEM.

"Your comments are very loud and clear," Abrams said. "We are not in the position to hold a referendum at this point in this room."