TOUR PROVIDES FINAL LOOK AT CHEMICAL FACILITY

By Larry Ault/OF THE COMMERCIAL STAFF

An estimated 128 people toured the Army's Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility on Saturday morning, taking a final look before it begins "agent operations" later this year or early in 2005.

Three guided tours were held, along with a driving tour for people unable to climb stairs or stand for long periods of time. No one under the age of 12 was allowed on the tour.

"This is the third time we've had a public tour," explained Cheryl Avery, a public affairs spokeswoman for the Arsenal.

As the tour began, Finn Norby, a guide, told one of the groups viewing the facility that 32 on-site containers of chemical agents will be destroyed.

The group was permitted to take a walking tour of the interior of the facility where they were shown the inside of an empty container like the kind used to house chemical agents. No photographs were allowed.

Chris West, communications director for Washington Group International, said the public was shown "the route the weapons will be moved" along on their way to be incinerated.

Once the facility is operational, West said, "We'll be working around the clock.

"Any people around an exposed (chemical) agent will be wearing suits," he said, referring to safety suits.

West said there shouldn't be any problems associated with possible contamination from the incineration process polluting the environment. He said the facility has a "negative air flow" system in which natural air is pumped in from outside and filtered before it is sent back to the outdoors.

"The whole facility cost $600 million to build," West said, explaining one third of the cost was spent on the pollution abatement system.

West said during trial burns, the liquid incinerator must destroy at least 99.9999 percent of the chemical agent, ensuring the safety of the workers, community and environment when the facility is operational.

"What comes out of the stack will be not quite pure air but near it," he said. "There are lots of fail-safe features built into the system."

Precautions to ensure against danger to the public have been taken, he said, noting that lightning poses a real threat.

"We don't want any lightning around," West said, explaining that anytime there is bad weather in the area, operations will be shut down until the storm passes.

Saturday was the last time the public will be allowed to inspect the site of the operations.

In the past, the Army maintained a stockpile of chemical agents and munitions in an effort to discourage other countries from using similar weapons in a conflict with the United States or allied troops.

The Army says it is now using its vast experience to destroy those chemical weapons.

Construction on the Pine Bluff Chemical Agent Disposal Facility began in January 1999 and was completed in November 2002. The facility's site covers 26 acres.

Pine Bluff stores the second largest chemical agent stockpile in the United States, with about 12 percent of the total U.S. stockpile. The stockpile consists of rockets, land mines and ton containers.

A meeting of the Pine Bluff Arsenal's Citizens Advisory Commission will be held at 5:30 p.m. Monday in the Creasy Auditorium.