ADEM: Incinerator in violation of permit Saturday, August 28, 2004 KATHERINE BOUMA News staff writer The state has cited the Army for 10 violations of its permit to operate the chemical weapons incinerator in Anniston, including failure to check nerve gas monitors, spilling hazardous waste across a floor, and keeping what appeared to be part of an M55 rocket in a bin. In its letter to the Army, the Alabama Department of Environmental Management did not assess a fine or penalty but said such a punishment could follow. "Since the violations appear to be significant, the department is considering the option to take further action, including imposition of monetary penalties for the noted violations," the letter states. Army officials said in a statement Friday that "at no time were workers, the public or environment at risk." Donavan Mager, spokesman for Westinghouse-Anniston, the contractor operating the weapons furnaces, said his company's goal is 100 percent compliance with its environmental permit. But he called the job "a gargantuan task." "We have thousands of compliance points around this building," he said. In one of the instances ADEM cited in its letter, a bin that was listed as empty was found to contain "a cylindrical metal object believed to be a piece of an M55 rocket." The Army also was cited for a leak of hazardous waste from the pollution abatement system during a three-day period. The brine, created when a bleach-like material is sprayed at the incinerator exhaust to pull the heavy metals out of the air, flowed across a concrete floor that had cracks in it, ADEM wrote. In another case, an ADEM employee observed a similar hazardous waste emptied onto the floor during a shutdown. Westinghouse was instructed to seal the floor and test the soil under the cracks for hazardous material. Storage tank cracks: In another case, an acidic and a basic hazardous waste were improperly stored next to each other. If acids and bases are mixed, they can generate heat or cause other dangerous reactions. Hazardous waste storage tanks also were found to have cracks. ADEM also wrote that equipment associated with pollution control was not properly calibrated on several occasions and in many locations. Also, for several months, technicians checked nerve gas monitors at stacks and other locations around the furnaces six times a day, instead of hourly. "We thought, and we still do, where we use the four-hour sampling method we get more of a true sample," Mager said. "A four-hour sample gives you a lot more analytical material to work with." The Army and Westinghouse will make the required changes and repairs as soon as possible, Mager said. He said the company also has put together an environmental excellence team to ensure it complies with the law. The incinerator has been operating for a year, burning M55 rockets loaded with deadly sarin gas. Under federal environmental laws, everyone holding a pollution permit is required to report any violations they discover to the proper authorities. Westinghouse reported four of the violations, Mager said. ADEM, which keeps an engineer on duty at the incinerator at all times, found six of the violations. One of those violations was discovered in 20 volumes of paper when Montgomery staff reviewed dense paperwork, ADEM spokesman Scott Hughes said. "These deficiencies and violations are a testament to the resources we have put into the facility and the resources we put into making sure they are operating in compliance with the permit," Hughes said. In the past, the Army incinerator has received one other notice of violation from ADEM as well as a less formal letter warning of problems. On two other occasions, Westinghouse's hazardous materials barrels washed up on the banks of area creeks, one with traces of hazardous material found in the bottom. Westinghouse was not held responsible for the problem, after officials said they had sold the barrels to a scrapyard.