Army officials: Mustard rounds could be tricky

Rebecca Walker
11 December 2009

Army officials say deteriorating mortar shells could slow down chemical weapons destruction but should not have an impact on destroying all weapons by a 2012 deadline.

More than 69,000 pounds of mustard agent had been destroyed at the incinerator as of Thursday. Mustard agent is the third and final weapon being disposed of at the site.

However, officials said they’ve hit an expected road bump; some of the 4.2 inch mortars containing HD mustard agent cannot be easily drained before destruction, lengthening the processing time for those mortars. While conducting a test run of 24 HD and HT mustard mortars last week, workers found “gunk and goo” inside some of the HD munitions, and some of the 10 to 100 millimeter rounds frothed, said the Army’s project site manager Tim Garrett.

“ They’re harder to process because of their age and condition,” he said.

The delay was expected because the same issue had arisen at other incineration sites around the country, he said.

Typically, drained 4.2 inch mortars spend 80 minutes in the incinerator’s furnace. Those which cannot be drained must stay in the furnace for 152 minutes, according to Army spokesman Mike Abrams.

The extra time slows the process, but Garrett said the facility still plans to meet the 2012 deadline set by an international treaty concerning chemical weapons.

“ Those 24 (mortars) are not indicative of several thousand, but we’re probably leaning toward not draining (the HD-filled mortars),” Garrett said.

Officials expect to begin a trial burn of undrained mortars in the second quarter of 2010, Garrett said.

The incinerator in Anniston fired up in 2003. The facility has destroyed approximately 2.9 million pounds of munitions, more than 64 percent of the Anniston stockpile. Officials in 2008 completed destruction of two types of nerve agent stored here. All that remains now is mustard.

Contact Staff Writer Rebecca Walker at 256-235-3562.