Lack of funding postpones chemical disposal

By Kasey Doyle/News editor

Published: Thursday, January 20, 2005

Media Credit: U.S. Army Photo/Submitted

An igloo at the Bluegrass Army Depot, on US 25 in Richmond, houses chemical weapons waiting to undergo neutralization.

Madison County residents and Eastern students may see delays in the disposal of the chemical weapons housed at The Blue Grass Army Depot. The depot is facing possible delays in the disposal of the chemical weapons due to substantial funding cuts within President George W. Bush's preliminary 2005 fiscal budget.

According to Pentagon documents released to the Chemical Weapons Working Group in Berea, the depot could see millions of dollars cut from the budget to finance the disposal of the weapons.

"This is really a slap in the face," said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group. He said the budget cuts show a complete abandonment of commitment to the community.

The Pentagon documents outlined plans for three projects that would dispose of chemical agents in the eight chemical depot sites in the United States. The Chemical Demilitarization-Chemical Materials Agency program would dispose of the stockpile of lethal chemical munitions stored in Anniston, Ala., Pine Bluff, Ark., Tooele, Utah, Umatilla, Ore., and Aberdeen, Md. The Chemical Demilitarization-Chemical Materials Agency Newport program would destroy the stockpile stored at Newport, Ind. The Chemical Demilitarization-Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program would destroy the stockpiles in Pueblo, Colo. and the Blue Grass Depot, on US 25 in Richmond.

The President's 2004 budget projected $280 million to be given to the Pueblo, Colo. and Blue Grass Depot sites, and a smaller $20 million dollar project, during the 2006 fiscal year. This amount was increased to about $400 million to be divided among the projects. The new budget will allocate approximately $31 million for the Chemical Demilitarization-Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program.

Williams said the War on Terror and the national deficit are two reasons for the cut in funding. He also said the funds cut from the Pueblo, Colo. and Blue Grass Depot program will be used to dispose of the chemicals at the other six chemical weapon depots.

According to the documents, the stockpile at the Blue Grass Army Depot will be the nation's most dangerous by 2007.

The new budget is an inappropriate way to handle the national program, Williams said.

"By cutting this program you create a known significant risk to people of this community," Williams said. "This has a potential significant impact on (Eastern)."

Eastern students also said they think there is a greater risk for people in the Madison County area.

"I feel more at risk now that the funds are being cut," said Savannah Hardin, a freshman pre-med major from Powell County.

Hardin said students have not been educated about the chemicals housed at the depot, She suggested Eastern host a forum to discuss the types of chemicals housed there.

"If I heard more about it, I might feel more concerned," said Jessica Bullens, a senior elementary education major from Paint Lick. "It would probably scare me more if I knew someone would be harmed from it for a fact."

"It seems to me that (Eastern) should, through all means possible, weigh in on this issue ... try and assist local elected officials and citizen groups ... who are attempting to fix this," Williams said.

According to the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives Web site, approximately 2 percent of the nation's original chemical weapons stockpile is housed at the Blue Grass Army Depot.

The depot stores 523 tons of nerve and blister agents. The two nerve agents, GB and VX, are deadly.

"We have the most risky munitions with the most risky agents," Williams said.

Williams predicted the disposal of the chemical weapons would not occur until 2018.

Reach Kasey at
kasey_doyle7@eku.edu