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Local
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Incinerator officials expect rocket fires
By Ben Cunningham
Assistant Metro Editor
12-01-2006
Officials at the Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility are expecting rockets to catch fire when they're not supposed to, but say they're ready for it when it happens. The facility in July began destroying M55 rockets armed with VX nerve agent. Of the 17,500 such rockets remaining at the Anniston Army Depot, 5,000 are of a type that have caused minor fires when processed at identical facilities in Umatilla, Ore. and Pine Bluff, Ark. Anniston workers will begin processing those rockets Monday. Tim Garrett, the Army's project site manager in Anniston, said he expects similar fires may happen here, but that they will present no great difficulty or danger. "We really don't anticipate having any problems with rocket fires," Garrett said. The fires in Oregon and Arkansas have occurred in the plants' explosive containment rooms, where rockets are sliced into pieces before incineration. Garrett said officials believe nitroglycerin from the rockets' propellant systems leaks to the surface of the shell with some rounds. When a blade strikes such a shell, it is believed the nitroglycerin ignites, starting the fires. Because these incidents occur in the explosive containment room, which has two-foot-thick concrete walls, there is little damage, and no danger to workers, who are outside the room during processing. A video provided by the Army of a rocket fire in Umatilla shows a rocket being moved toward the shearing blade by a conveyor. The blade begins cutting the rocket at the nose end, with the cylindrical pieces falling into a pile as they're cut. On the fourth cut, the rocket ignites in a blaze. A second camera angle shows a bright flash as the rocket catches fire, then the containment room filling with smoke. Garrett said the fires have not set off ceiling-mounted sprinkler systems at the other sites, and crews have been able to resume processing after checking equipment. In Anniston, crews probably will be delayed after the first fire for 12-24 hours as they check equipment. Subsequent fires will require less down time. Bob Love, project manager for Westinghouse Anniston, which operates the incinerator facilities for the Army, said he fully expects the fires to occur in the Anniston plant. "If it's happened everywhere else I don't know why it wouldn't happen here," Love said. Garrett said there is a chance that there could be fewer fires here than at the other sites because of Alabama's higher humidity. The comparatively moist air may help prevent the nitroglycerin from igniting. |
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Ben Cunningham is business editor and assistant metro editor for The Star
Contact Ben Cunningham
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256-235-3543 256-241-1991 bcunningham@annistonstar.com |