STATEMENT FROM MR. RUFUS KINNEY
FAMILIES CONCERNED ABOUT NERVE GAS INCINERATION
ANNISTON, ALABAMA
Tuesday, April 20, 2004
Anniston is about the sixth largest city in Alabama. With a heavy population
adjacent to and directly downwind from the incinerator, it, as much as any
stockpile site, needs -- must have -- the extra layer of protection
afforded by an advanced chemical agent monitoring system.
For instance, recently VX nerve agent was detected by a DAAMS tube 4 miles
from our very own ground zero: the Anniston chemical weapons incinerator.
But since those tubes are only checked every 8-12 hours, nobody knew how
long the VX had been there. To this day, nobody knows how it got there!
And, all the DAAMS tube samples were used up running confirmation tests so
no detailed lab tests could be performed.
People live within two miles of Anniston’s ground zero. Their backyard
fences are the border of the incinerator property. These are not scattered
rural homes; they are neighborhoods. I have been there; I have seen
these backyard fences.
The good news is that advanced chemical agent monitoring systems, like the
FTIR system, give accurate, real-time readings, so that the people living
nearest ground zero can respond in an emergency.
75,000 people live within nine miles of the incinerator. They can’t
wait 8 - 12 hours between DAAMS tube readings and analyses. They must
respond immediately to protect their families and children. In
Anniston, Wellborn High School is in the very shadow of the incinerator.
It has an excellent multi-million dollar overpressurization system, built
by the Army Corps of Engineers, to provide contamination-free space for students
in case of a chemical agent release. But it won’t do any good
if a plume of chemical agent gets to the property before the students get
to the overpressurized room!
We must have instant notification, such as the advanced monitor systems can
give us. I have seen the overpressurization system at Wellborn and
I am impressed. But it won’t save anybody if the school doesn’t have
instant notification.
We are delighted to have seen recommendations from the National Research
Council for better monitoring systems, and support from the U.S. Congress,
including Senator Richard Shelby and Congressman Mike Rogers.
An excellent demonstration of the FTIR technology was done here at Jacksonville
State University last November, sponsored in part by Senator Shelby.
I attended the demonstration, and was impressed by the accuracy and efficiency
of the FTIR system. These monitors can help save our community in an
emergency. And we are NOT asking that chemical weapons disposal be
halted or that any existing monitors be removed, in order to make this happen.
Finally, I am confident that the incinerator officials themselves are in
support of the deployment of this technology, since plant manager Tim Garrett,
as well as his predecessor, Steve DePew, repeatedly have stated over the
years that nothing but steam is coming out of the incinerator smokestack
anyway. Thus they have nothing to fear from this technology, where
its detection of chemical agent emissions is concerned.
This one’s a no-brainer. The community supports it, and I’m delighted
to be speaking for