DISPOSAL DELAYED AT PB ARSENAL

By Bobbie Crockett/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

The startup of destroying chemical weapons at Pine Bluff Arsenal will be no earlier than July, said Mark Greer, assistant site project manager for operations for the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility.

That's a revision from the earlier projected start-up at the end of April.

Greer told the Citizens Advisory Commission on Monday that the "fundamental objective of the PDCDF project is to dispose of the chemical weapons in a safe, environmentally sound, timely and cost-effective manner."

"We will proceed with agent operations only after we have ensured that this objective can be met and that the plant, the procedures and the people have all been demonstrated to be ready for plant start-up," he said.

Tuesday, site project manager Randy Long said the need to take more time is not indicative of something being wrong.

"Our primary objective is to make sure that we do everything safely and protect the environment," Long said.

He added that officials want to ensure that the plant is functioning as it is designed, that all the procedures are in place and that all personnel are set to begin the chemical disposal process.

Long said a majority of the system's testing was completed on or ahead of schedule and officials want to make sure that "everything is correct before we move on."

White Hall School District Superintendent Gary Kees said Tuesday that he agrees with that strategy.

"I think they're looking at it from a safety factor, among other things," he said. "I have no problem with them using the utmost safety in prolonging it."

The gym at the White Hall Junior High School will soon be overpressurized like those at White Hall High and Moody Elementary schools, Kees said. Most of the conduit for over-pressurization has been run in the gym, which is expected to be ready by the end of April. The work is part of the emergency preparedness effort.

Advertising will begin next week for systems maintenance for schools in the White Hall district, which will be funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

During Monday's commission meeting, Ron Garner, Washington Demilitarization Co. project general manager, said the disposal project has always been safety-driven, not schedule-driven.

Garner said WDC has received recognition from the Arkansas Department of Labor for 4 million hours of work without a lost-day injury. According to officials, WDC's safety record ranks second among chemical stockpile sites throughout the country.

A public meeting will be held on April 22 from 6 to 8 p.m. on the use of the Explosive Destruction System to destroy non-stockpile chemical material on the Arsenal. The meeting will be held at the Arsenal's Creasy Auditorium.