Speaker's Stand ... On a year of safe achievement

By Timothy K. Garrett and Robert C. Love
Special to The Star
08-11-2004

As reported in this newspaper, one year of sound, safe operations at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility has now passed. We took time this week to reflect on what our team has accomplished. We would like to share our thoughts with the community and your readers. First and foremost, we are proud of the fact that our ANCDF workforce performed marvelously. And their excellent performance is continuing as we embark on our second year of operations. These dedicated men and women, who are your neighbors, executed a very difficult mission in a safe, professional manner. The facility has performed as it should, incorporating the lessons learned from several years of operations at sister facilities on Johnston Island and in Utah. Locally, we have safely destroyed nearly 34,700 rockets and some 183 tons of nerve agent GB. Our numbers, while significant, are but a small percentage of the more than 1.4 million munitions and 9,344 tons of chemical agent that our Army and associated contractors have safely destroyed over the past 14 years. The Anniston figures represent a significant reduction of risk for the community for which there should be great pride and a feeling of relief. Our ANCDF team focus has always been on safe operations. Our commitment to our community is that we will not rest on our laurels. It is critical that we maintain safety as our primary focus so the work force can continue to do its job and so the community can continue to support our important job of destroying the rest of the stockpile. We hope and believe the next year will be just as good as the first. Lastly, we want to thank the community for the support the ANCDF has received. While we may celebrate one year of good operations, we look forward to the day when we can all say there are no more chemical weapons stored in Anniston. That is when we can truly celebrate. Timothy K. Garrett is ANCDF Site Project Manager. Robert C. Love is Westinghouse Anniston Project Manager.

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