NBC13 News (Anniston)
June 5, 2003

Military Ready To Incinerate Chemical Weapons; County Commissioners Remain Hesitant

POSTED: 5:30 p.m. CDT June 5, 2003
UPDATED: 5:47 p.m. CDT June 5, 2003

ANNISTON, Ala. -- The chemical weapons incinerator run by the Army in Anniston is ready to begin destroying tons of Cold War-era weapons, officials told Congress.

The communication serves only as a notice of preparedness. No date has been set to start destroying 2,254 tons of Cold War-era weapons, including blister and nerve agent.

Incineration operations have been postponed because of concern about whether the community is prepared to respond to a potential disaster at the facility.

Recently, some Calhoun County commissioners -- long at odds with the Army over the operation of the facility -- have said they feel more confident citizens will be prepared in the event of an accident. The county was awarded a $14 million contract for protective devices such as hoods, air filters and shelter-in-place kits for residents. Protective Hoods

U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., has said the Army must over-pressurize schools within a 12-mile radius of the incinerator; fund additional protective measures for groups such as the elderly and disabled and provide accurate, updated toxicity information about the chemical weapons stored at the depot.

Calhoun County commissioners released a statement Thursday saying they could not support starting the incineration process before Shelby's guidelines have been met. They also said they still have questions about how exactly the weapons will be destroyed.

"To support the decision to go forward would not only ignore our longstanding position regarding these safety items, but would also mean we would be acting without knowing what the scope of the operations will be," the statement read.