Incinerator approaches new phase of operation

By Rob Jordan
Star Staff Writer
09-21-2004

With Hurricane Ivan little more than a memory, Anniston's chemical weapons incinerator is up and running again and approaching a new phase in its operation. The facility started burning sarin-filled rockets early Saturday. It had shut down Wednesday evening in anticipation of the storm that decimated coastal Alabama. Packing a considerably weaker punch when it reached Calhoun County, Ivan did no apparent damage to the incinerator other than temporarily knocking out two perimeter agent monitors, Army officials said. Power was restored to the monitors by Friday night, according to Tim Garrett, the Army’s site manager. If the plant had lost power, as many homes and businesses in surrounding areas did, air filtration systems could have malfunctioned, allowing a small agent release, according to Bob Love, project manager for contractor Westinghouse Anniston. Any such release, made unlikely by the plant's shutdown, would not have spread beyond the Army depot's borders, Love said. In preparation for a worst-case scenario, incinerator workers secured loose metal parts, storage bins and other items normally stored outside. Workers decontaminated the area where rockets are disassembled for incineration and burned off much of the sarin in a holding tank. A 10,000-gallon oil tanker was brought in to feed the plant’s two diesel generators, and more than 200 non-essential employees, such as clerks, were told to stay home. Taking advantage of the slowdown, workers did monthly equipment re-calibrations and other "light preventive maintenance," Garrett said. Sometime in October, workers will begin a month-long overhaul of the incinerator to burn sarin-filled projectiles, beginning with eight-inch-long rounds. Robotic instruments will disassemble the heavy steel projectiles, sending metal parts to a furnace separate from those used to burn agent and explosives. Unlike the aluminum-sheathed M55 rockets processed now, the projectiles will not be sheered with a blade. Garrett said he hoped to have burned through the stockpile's projectiles within a year. As of Monday, the incinerator had burned more than 92 percent of the depot's sarin-filled M55 rockets and approximately 45 percent of the stockpile’s sarin total, according to the Army. More than 90 percent of the stockpile's munitions and agent total, including sarin, VX and mustard, remain. Westinghouse Anniston, the contractor in charge of the incinerator, announced that its workforce had gone more than 6 million consecutive man-hours without an injury resulting in a day away from work. Love said the milestone was a result of a workplace culture in which employees freely voice concerns to management, look after each other and are empowered to stop operations if necessary. "It's employees driving this," Love said.

About Rob Jordan

Rob Jordan covers criminal justice issues for The Star.