Richmond Register
February 6, 2002

Our Opinion:

More Information means more local safety In chemical weapons decisions

The history of the chemical weapons stored at the Blue Grass Army Depot is a long and sordid one. To even make an informed entrance into the debate on how these deadly nerve and blister agent-filled munitions will be destroyed can take weeks of intensive study.

How, then, do the people of Madison County learn about the complex issues surrounding the chemical weapons? Just because someone does not have a degree in chemistry and biology, not to mention history, does not mean that that person cannot have an interest or stake in the how these weapons are destroyed.

We must rely, in large part, on the study and findings of our elected officials and members of the Kentucky Demilitarization Citizees Advisory Commission to inform us all of the advantages and disadvantages of each technology proposed to destroy the 523 tons of chemical agent-filled munitions.

For this reason, we are happy to see that a group of local elected officials, CAC members, a representative from the Kentucky Environmental Foundation, and a reporter from the Register are heading to Aberdeen, Md., to study the alternatives to incineration. Touring facilities and attending briefings, the group will return with a more complete picture of what a facility using the ACWA or McConnell amendment technology would look like in Madison County.

Delayed by the Sept. 11 attacks, this trip is long overdue for. many to gain greater insight into the technology that could be used to tackle the destruction of Madison County's chemical weapons. Richmond Commissioner Mike Brewer, KEF representative Elizabeth Crowe, CAC co-chairman Doug Hindman, CAC member Diane Kerby, CAC member Amanda Stafford and Richmond Mayor Pro Tem Bill Strong will be better able to serve us after this trip.

The information gleaned from this trip to Maryland is crucial to increasing the understanding of this issue. If Richmond and Madison County are to be actively involved in deciding our own fates, we must have these local experts to be our voices and make sure that this voice is heard all the way to the Pentagon.

Knowledge is power, and this trip will empower not just our local decision-makers, but also the public through the articles written, first-hand, about what the group is seeing and hearing. We look forward to the findings of the group. -