Star Staff Writer
One member of the public attended a public hearing Thursday on the Army’s request for a permit change that would allow it to store waste from the chemical weapons incinerator in Anniston Army Depot bunkers that currently store chemical weapons.
The man, who did not give his name, did not choose to give testimony at the hearing, but afterward said he was disgusted by the lack of turnout and feared that waste from chemical weapons would be stored at the Depot indefinitely.
The Alabama Department of Environmental Management held the hearing as an opportunity for the public to comment on the proposed permit change before the agency makes its decision.
The change would allow the Army to store waste from the incineration process, including ash, protective suits, and carbon from ventilation filters, in 155 storage bunkers that are now used to hold obsolete chemical weapons.
Since August, the Army has been burning the weapons, which contain deadly nerve and blister agent, in a $1 billion incinerator.
After an ADEM official read the proposed change, Steven Guthrie, an environmental engineer representing the Anniston Army Depot, made the only comment.
“Although we are seeking permitting for 155 igloos, most of that is a contingency,” he said. “We expect not to use that.”
Guthrie said most of the secondary waste from incineration will be destroyed in the metal parts furnace. Unlike other incineration sites, he said, the Depot will not wait to begin destroying the waste until all the weapons have been incinerated. The permit for 155 igloos is just in case there is a problem destroying the secondary waste and it needs to be stored, he said.
The permit change also would allow three container-handling buildings in the industrial area of the depot to be used for storing industrial hazardous waste, such as solvents, acid and paint, and it would permit three igloos to be used for storing conventional munitions or munitions parts that have become hazardous waste because they can’t be used anymore.
The change would mean more frequent inspections than what is now required by the Department of Defense.
The deadline for ADEM to receive written public comment on the change is Monday at 5 p.m. Comments may be mailed to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, P.O. Box 301463, Montgomery, AL 36130-1463.