Anniston Star
October 5, 2003

Anti-incineration advocates seek information on residents' health

By Nathan Solheim
Star Staff Writer
10-05-2003

Anti-incineration groups are circulating a flyer around Anniston asking residents to contact them if they experience any of a list of symptoms that Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta says are frequently seen in a variety of maladies.

The flyer asks whether residents have experienced headaches, runny nose, nasal congestion, vomiting or diarrhea — symptoms that are common to complaints ranging from allergies to the common cold to influenza. It suggests residents report such symptoms to one of several anti-incineration advocates.

“We would not expect such symptoms to be attributable to the incinerator,” said Lisa Beaumire, a spokeswoman for the CDC’s National Center for Environmental Health “The CDC has monitors to assess the air quality and make sure it’s safe for the workers and the public health.”

The flyer lists contact numbers for Brenda Lindell, a member of a local anti-incineration group; a local chapter of the Sierra Club; and an e-mail address for the Chemical Weapons Working Group in Berea, Ky.

Representatives of the groups said they are collecting information and mean to draw no relationship between any of the symptoms and exposure to GB nerve agent.

“This is not something we’re particularly interested in getting out in front of,” said Craig Williams of the Chemical Weapons Working Group. “We’re not staking out a position or making a claim — we’re gathering information.”

The 2002 edition of the Physician’s Desk Reference Guide to Biological and Chemical Warfare Response lists symptoms and treatments for all known chemical agents.

The reference does list each of the symptoms named on the flyer as among numerous symptoms associated with chemical exposure. The CDC web site, however, says a small drop of GB causes a twitching of the skin, while a large dose can cause death.

The Anniston Chemical Disposal Facility has been destroying Cold War-era M-55 rockets filled with GB nerve agent since August.

Incinerator spokesman Mike Abrams said no agent has been released from the facility.

“Emphatically and absolutely not,” Abrams said.

Both Williams and Lindell said they have received calls from people not associated with their groups asking about symptoms.

“I’m not claiming anybody has anything,” Lindell said. “I’m just collecting information to see if they are having symptoms.”