Birmingham News
July 31, 2003

Army gets OK to burn weapons

KATHERINE BOUMA
News staff writer

The state late Wednesday issued the Army a permit to burn nerve-gas weapons in Anniston, pushing aside the last barrier to incineration of the stockpile.

The Pentagon and Gov. Bob Riley continue to disagree over working rules at the incinerator. Until final safety measures are complete Oct. 1, the Army had offered to destroy weapons slowly and only during designated times.

Last week, Riley rejected the proposal, saying he would sign an agreement only if he were granted the right to shut down the burners during an emergency. The Pentagon refused.

Wednesday, officials at the Pentagon worked into the evening, but emerged without a decision on whether or when they would start the burn without the governor's approval.

"We just were issued the permit, so we're still in the process of trying to work things out," said Pentagon spokeswoman Cynthia Smith.

A spokesman for Riley said the governor expects negotiations to continue.

If the agreement is not signed, the Pentagon still intends to abide by its terms, which include keeping all weapons in storage during school hours and moving them only during ideal weather conditions, said Mike Abrams, a spokesman for the Army in Anniston.

"Either way, and under all circumstances, we have the same mission, and that is to safely store and then dispose of the weapons," Abrams said. "That is our commitment to everybody in the state and in the area."

The Army plans to incinerate 661,529 artillery shells, rockets and mines at the incinerator. The weapons, which are filled with sarin, VX or mustard gas, have been stored in earthen bunkers at Anniston Army Depot since the beginning of the Cold War.

Now, the United States has signed an international treaty to destroy the weapons, which in any case are too old and unstable to transport or use.

The Army says the operation will take close to 10 years, including time to shut down and re-tool, and will cost about $2.3 billion.

Army officials have said in the past that they could have the incinerator started in less than a week after receiving a permit.

Opponents of the incinerator plan to ask a federal judge in Washington for a temporary restraining order on Monday, a Birmingham lawyer for the groups said.

They argue that the Army has not adequately considered neutralizing the weapons in a low-heat, no-smokestacks approach being adopted at other sites, mixing the chemicals with warm water or other non-toxic liquids.

"The grounds are that the true public health and environmental impacts of incinerating chemical weapons in Anniston and new information on alternative technologies have not been fully or adequately considered by the Army, and that puts them in violation of the National Environmental Policy Act," said Craig Williams, executive director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group.

The Army planned the incinerator in 1982, when officials did not know nerve agents could be destroyed without extremely high heat, officials have said. Furthermore, they say, incineration is safe and has been used in Utah and in a test site in the Pacific Ocean.

A National Academy of Sciences study of risk found that incinerating the weapons is 230 times safer than continuing the store them.

David Azbell, a spokesman for Riley, said the governor did not try to stand in the way of the incineration.

"I think just about everyone agrees that the weapons are more dangerous sitting in igloos in rusty containers than they would be being destroyed," Azbell said. "At some point we have to take a look and move forward with this."

Calhoun County Commissioner Eli Henderson said he agrees that it's time to incinerate the weapons, but he wishes someone in the state had the power to pull the plug if necessary. He said Riley and other local leaders have negotiated with the Army over this issue for nearly two decades and learned to watch their backs.

"We've had some tough fights, and like me, I think he's learned you can't always quite believe what they say," Henderson said. "If I were in his shoes, I'd want that authority."