The Pinnacle
Berea College, KY
May 13, 2992

US Army nearing chemical weapons disposal decision; Public sentiment points to incineration alternatives

By Crystal Wylie

During the next 6-8 months the residents of Madison County should anticipate the decision of United States Army to either release toxic chemicals into the atmosphere through incineration or to utilize alternative means for disposal of the chemical weapons stockpile. The stockpile is located just a few miles north of campus at the Blue Grass Army Depot. This decision will answer the "burning question" that has haunted our region for the past sixteen years.

"The Army has always pushed for incineration, and they seemed to have already made a decision," said Berea College President Larry Shinn, "but public sentiment and rational considerations ought to point towards neutralization." President Shinn is speaking of the Army's long campaign supporting the use of incineration technology as a way of destroying the deadly chemicals.

"In theory, the incineration technique may well be able to produce the desired results of eliminating this hazard, but what has been shown again and again is that economic greed and human error often defeat the effects of technology," said Shinn. He took a similar position against the building of a hazardous waste incinerator just north of Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PN, where he served as provost and academic vice-president,

However, some go further than Shinn in arguing that the incineration should not be used.

"You can put on a blinder and say that incineration is a safe solution," said Kentucky Environmental Foundation (KEF) organizer, Elizabeth Crowe, "but then you can choose to take it off and explore the better options. People think you can just throw [chemical weapons] all in, burn it, and no problem!"

There are 523 tons (1.7% of the total U.S. chemical weapon stockpile) of projectiles and rockets filled with nerve and mustard agents stored in earth-covered igloos at the Depot. according to an update issued by the KEF.

The presence of the fatal weapons presents a danger in two ways. Firstly, in light of September 11th, there has been a rush to dispose of the chemicals quickly before the Army Depot becomes a target for terrorist attack. The possibility of any leakage or exposure to the chemicals would be tragic. It has been reported by the KEF that a pin-drop size of nerve agents on one's skin would prove fatal while exposure to a mustard agent can cause inflammation of the eyes, nose, throat, trachea, bronchi and lung tissue and external and internal blistering, which can also prove fatal.

Secondly, if the decision is made to incinerate the chemicals, a technique supported by the Army, toxic chemicals (dioxins, furans, and heavy metals) could be released into the air of Madison County, including that of the Berea College campus. Increased rates of cancer, birth defects, reproductive disorders, immune system damage, learning disorders and other ailments are directly linked to human exposure to these byproducts of incineration.

Dioxins are man-made toxins that travel through the food chain. Dioxins bioaccumulate through the fatty tissues of meats and they are stored in the fatty tissues of humans. In other words, once the dioxins are ingested, they can never be expelled from the body.

"Every citizen has already been exposed to too much," said Crowe.

The Alternatives

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requires the Army to provide the public with reasonable alternatives to incineration as well as an open ear to public sentiment.

At the beginning of the debate, no reasonable alternatives were presented. According to the KEF report, the options were to "move the chemical weapons somewhere else to be burned, or to do nothing at all."

"The town was told that neutralization wasn't possible and that the only acceptable way was through incineration," said Shinn.

Madison County residents did not buy it. State and federal officials aptly responded to the public's cry for safer disposal technology resulting in a set of real alternatives applicable to the Blue Grass Army Depot

Proposed alternatives were held up against a strict "measuring stick" of criteria that represented what the Kentucky citizen wanted in a disposal method. 'We heard the mother who said, 'I don't want my children to be poisoned,"' said Crowe, "and we can articulate what she means." Incineration does not meet any of the criteria approved by Kentucky citizens.

The Kentucky Citizen Advisory Commission (CAC) is a group that was appointed by the governor, authorized by Congress. The commission was asked to provide input to Pentagon decisionmakers on views held by Kentuckians. "We have spent the last year collecting information and organizing to coherently come up with what citizens of this area want," said co-chair of the CAC, Doug Hindman.

The real question of neutralization versus incineration is whether we want to take
the deadly chemical weapons, neutralize them, and contain the hazardous byproducts or to incinerate emitting harmful levels of hazardous byproducts into the air. If the waste is not contained it will make its way into our bodies.

"The idea behind neutralization is to take what is incredibly dangerous and transform it into something that is less dangerous," said Shinn. Along the same lines, Crowe said, "if a plane crashes into an igloo full of neutralization waste, you might have a Liquid Plumber type mess, but it won't kill millions of people." (See chart of proven alternatives

What can we do?

"We do not make the decision," said John Capillo, finance director of KEF, "but the citizens can influence the Army's decision according to their concern about the issue. If a whole bunch of people are interested, city. county, and state government representatives can bring the public sentiments to the Army." Citizens also have the opportunity to learn about the alternatives and provide some feedback. Citizens with voting rights can exert pressure on representatives and offer assistance to local groups supporting their view on this issue

Berea College is updating its evacuation plans in case of a nerve or mustard gas leakage. Previous plans included the transportation of students to a "safe zone" in London, KY approximately 35 miles south of Berea via construction-ridden highway 1-75. Newly revised plans include the use of Seabury Center as a safe haven where dangerous chemicals could not seep in.