Chemical Weapons Working Group
PO Box 467 Berea, KY 40403
(859) 986-7565 fax: (859) 986-2695
www.cwwg.org
for more information:
Craig Williams (859) 986-7565
or 302-1103
for immediate release: Friday,
August 8, 2003
ALABAMA RESIDENTS BRACE FOR CHEMICAL WEAPONS INCINERATOR START-UP; CONTINUE
PROTEST AGAINST GOVERNMENT INJUSTICE
Anniston, Alabama residents responded
swiftly to Judge Thomas Penfield Jackson's ruling allowing the Army to begin
burning chemical weapons stored at the Anniston Army Depot, saying they will
continue to demand that these weapons of mass destruction be eliminated with
safer technologies, and without destroying their communities.
Several plaintiff groups, including the Chemical Weapons
Working Group (CWWG), Sierra Club and a chapter of the Southern Christian
Leadership Conference argued for a restraining order against startup of the
incinerator at the U.S. District Court in Washington DC today, saying they
would suffer irreparable harm if the incinerator was allowed to operate.
The motion, argued by attorney Richard Condit, noted
that the Army never allowed consideration of an alternative technology to
incineration, even though chemical weapons located at four other stockpile
sites will be destroyed by Department of Defense-approved, non-incineration
technologies. The motion was supported by numerous affidavits from
Anniston residents who testified that:
- they have not received equipment such as
protective hoods, filtration units, or other items to help prevent their
exposure to chemical agents;
- school buildings, churches and day care centers
will not be overpressurized till October;
- major roads on evacuation routes are undergoing
major construction or are closed down completely; and
- entire neighborhoods of Anniston residents previously
exposed to PCBs and who suffer serious health problems resulting from those
exposures, will be disproportionately impacted by toxic incinerator emissions.
In addition, the plaintiffs offered testimony from
experts in the area of chemical agent monitoring and the impacts of releasing
additional toxics, via stack emissions, into an already contaminated
community.
Speaking on behalf of the CWWG coalition, Monica Rohde,
who attended the hearing said, "Justice has not yet been served, and we will
continue all of our efforts to ensure that workers and families in Anniston
and the surrounding communities will be granted the maximum protection from
lethal chemical agents that they so deserve."
The CWWG, Sierra Club, Southern Christian Leadership
Conference and hundreds of citizens from Anniston and all over the southeast
are moving forward, considering other legal action against the incinerator.
Grassroots activities including a march and rally in downtown Anniston on
Saturday, August 16th are already planned.
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Check the CWWG website at <http://www.cwwg.org> for more background
information.
