Chemical Weapons Working Group
PO Box 467 Berea, KY 40403
(606) 986-0868 fax: (606) 986-2695
www.cwwg.org
for more information contact:
John Nunn: (410) 778-5968
Craig Williams: (606) 986-7565
for immediate release: Wednesday, February 24, 1999
STATE OF MARYLAND ISSUES PERMITS FOR NON-INCINERATION TECHNOLOGY TO
DISPOSE OF ITS CHEMICAL WEAPONS STOCKPILE
The State of Maryland Department of the Environment and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday, February 22 issued permits for the Army to construct and operate a non-incineration technology for disposal of its chemical weapons stockpile at the Aberdeen Proving Ground (APG).
The pilot facility, called the Aberdeen Chemical Agent Disposal Facility, will use chemical neutralization and biological processes to treat the 1600 tons of mustard agent stored in ton containers at the Edgewood Area of APG. Unlike incineration, which releases toxic chemicals into the environment through smokestacks, the neutralization/biological process will contain byproducts, and only release them into the environment after they have been proven safe. Non-incineration technologies will also be employed for disposal of nerve agents stored in Newport, Indiana.
Environmental and public health groups in Maryland and across the nation have been working toward safe, non-incineration disposal of chemical weapons for over ten years. The Chemical Weapons Working Group (CWWG), an international coalition of citizens working for safe disposal, hails the Maryland pilot plant as a "success story" in contrast to the Army's incineration program. While the incineration program is currently 14 years behind schedule and more than 600% over budget, the alternative technologies program for Maryland is on schedule and under budget. In October 1998, Bechtel was awarded the contract to construct and operate the pilot plant at a bid of $306 million, well below the estimated cost of $500 million for an incinerator.
CWWG Spokesperson Craig Williams said, "At a time when chemical weapons incinerators are being legally challenged at stockpile sites in Utah, Alabama, Oregon and Arkansas, the alternative technology process in Maryland is moving ahead smoothly, with strong support from local citizens. The only thing standing in the way of alternative technologies at all stockpile sites is the Army's irrational allegiance to incineration."
Earlier this month, the Arkansas state environmental agency gave the Army the green light to build and operate an incinerator to destroy chemical weapons stored at the Pine Bluff Arsenal. The incinerator permit was awarded despite years of citizen protest, hundreds of pages of written comments, and a Congressionally-mandated program identifying other non-incineration disposal technologies. The CWWG's Williams adds, "With 80% of the Arkansas chemical weapons stockpile identical to Maryland's, the fact that the Army continues to move forward with incineration in Arkansas is ludicrous."
CWWG member John Nunn, also a member of the Maryland Chemical Demilitarization Citizens Advisory Commission (CAC), noted that the 60-day comment period for the neutralization pilot plant drew only one comment from the public: a two page letter from a local conservationist, which was effectively addressed by the CAC. Nunn said, "Construction of the facility is expected to begin in Spring 1999, without public opposition, lawsuits and hostility. If this kind of progress continues, Aberdeen could be the first stateside facility to destroy its stockpile."
Citizens nationwide vow to continue pushing for alternative disposal technologies at all stockpile sites. John Nunn summarized, "Alternative technologies can be timely and cost effective. I hope the Army will learn from Maryland's experience and realize safe alternative technologies can and should be implemented at all sites."
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