Alabama CW Disposal Site Might Need $40M Addition
Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Anniston Chemical Agent Disposal Facility in Alabama is likely to require new technology priced at up to $40 million to safely destroy decaying weapons filled with mustard blister agent, the Anniston Star reported yesterday (see GSN, Jan. 6).

A detonation chamber would be used to eliminate roughly 2 percent of the mustard weapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot. The alternative would be to require workers to manually remove explosives from the unstable munitions, said ANCDF site program manager Tim Garrett.

A more specific estimate of the number of weapons that require detonation is expected when the regular mustard disposal campaign begins this summer, he said.

The detonation chamber uses a conveyor system to move weapons inside sealed vaults, where they are detonated through use of extreme heat or explosives. The chemical warfare material is also destroyed in the blast.

The exiting spending plan for disposal operations at Anniston should cover the detonation chamber, according to Garrett. The project could begin in January of next year, following approval from state and federal environmental authorities (Nick Cenegy, Anniston Star, April 22).