Local News
Posted: Thursday, July 29, 2010
Chem weapons destruction compromise in the works
By JOHN NORTON | norton@chieftain.com |
Local officials and the head of the program charged with destroying the chemical weapons stockpile here have come up with an agreement for a plan to get rid of some of the weapons other than through the water neutralization process that will handle most.
Irene Kornelly, chairman of the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens Advisory Commission, said Wednesday that an agreement “that would be satisfactory to everyone” had been worked out with Kevin Flamm, manager of the Assembled Chemical Weapons Alternatives program. She said, however, she could not reveal the details because the decision is still up to Ashton Carter, undersecretary of defense for acquisition, technology and logistics.”
She said she did not know when Carter would make a decision, but hoped it would be before the next commission meeting, Sept. 29, in Boone.
The Pentagon has been looking at the possibility of blowing up 125,000 of the 780,000 mortar rounds and artillery shells here in contained chambers. The argument was that it would allow the United States to continue weapons destruction work uninterrupted after the last incineration plant finishes work in 2012 and before destruction gets under way here in 2015.
That would give the United States a better position to encourage other nations that have promised to destroy chemical weapons to not delay their programs.
It also could mean Pueblo would finish work ahead of the congressional deadline of 2017.
But members of the Colorado Chemical Demilitarization Citizens Advisory Commission, the Colorado Department of Public Health and even the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency have criticized the Pentagon’s environmental assessment that claimed no significant impact from the plan even though there would be a large amount of waste produced.
The primary program would use hot water to wash out the weapons and neutralize the mustard agent.
Commission members have known for some time that as many as 1,000 leaking weapons would not be able to go through the water neutralization process and likely would have to be blown up, but they’ve balked at the 125,000 number.
In other business at this month’s commission meeting, Kevin Chalmers, deputy project manager for Bechtel, the lead contractor on the project, said that the company has 384 construction workers and 91 subcontractor employees working there, along with 377 nonconstruction employees.
He said that by the end of the year, “We expect to have 550 to 600 combined craft workers and subcontractors. We have jobs.”
An effort is being made to recruit people he said, adding that anyone interested can call 549-4003 or go to the website, pueblo.bechtel.com.