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The Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility probably will destroy its 100,000th munition this month, but officials are looking beyond the milestone to the completion of the sarin campaign. "It is significant, but it probably isn't as significant as
when we finish our GB rounds," said Robert Love, project general manager
for the Washington Group, the contractor on the project. The ANCDF had destroyed 97,273 weapons – mostly rockets and shells – through Tuesday, after more than two years of work. But even with destruction totals approaching six figures, crews have destroyed only about 17 percent of the Anniston Army Depot's chemical-weapons stockpile; more than 1.2 million chemical munitions still need to be processed. "It's still a good start," said Tim Garrett, the Army project site manager. "But 100,000 will come and go in a matter of a few minutes, and we'll continue on.” The sarin campaign was moving faster than expected this year, but the 105-mm shells currently being destroyed have created an unanticipated problem on the facility's Deactivation Furnace Heated Conveyor. Fin-like blades that move debris through the furnace have faced a great deal of wear, and processing was shut down twice in October to repair the machines. Other processing stoppages are possible, but officials say they hope they'll be shorter. "We've been making several small changes, and it looks to be helping," Love said. "The length of time between repairs is thinning." The difficulties mean the sarin campaign, once expected to be finished in December, probably will wrap up early next year. Then crews will spend four months preparing the facility to destroy VX weapons. That campaign probably will begin in late spring or early summer, Garrett said. "We're on pace as far as what our expectations were for this project," he said. "We're executing in the manner we said we would.” Weapons processing, which began in Anniston in August 2003, is expected to be finished in 2010. There are five active chemical-weapons disposal facilities in the nation.
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About Brian Lyman
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Brian Lyman covers infrastructure and the cities of Heflin and Lincoln for the Anniston Star. He lives in Anniston. |
| Phone: Fax: E-mail: |
256-235-3544 256-241-1991 blyman@annistonstar.com |
