Story created Thursday, November 13, 2003.

Congress urges Army to beef up monitoring at chemical weapon sites

By JEFFREY McMURRAY
Associated Press Writer

Congress is adding its voice to the call for enhanced safety at incinerators, including one in Alabama, where some of the nation's deadliest chemical agents are being destroyed.

In a bill authorizing defense spending, senators approved a "sense of the Congress" provision Wednesday that asks the Army to improve chemical monitoring at the incinerator sites. The House had already approved the same request.

The measure, sponsored by Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky., is nonbinding but aims to apply more pressure on the Army to invest in such technology as infrared spectrometers, which supporters say can detect a chemical accident far quicker than the monitors currently in place.

"I think it's important for the Army and the safety of the community in the Anniston area that the most advanced, real-time monitoring technology be used in the chemical disposal program," said Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala. "Technology gets outdated every month."

The Anniston incinerator has destroyed more than 10,700 chemical rockets and more than 11,300 gallons of liquid GB since the operation began on Aug. 9.

Pete Conroy, director of the Environmental Policy and Information Center at Jacksonville State University, says infrared monitoring should be used alongside monitors already in place. He acknowledges the existing ones pick up lower levels of chemicals albeit with more lag time than the infrared technology.

Adding infrared monitors should not delay the incinerator process at Anniston, Conroy said.

"There are those who would say this is an added layer of protection," he said. "This is an added tool in the toolbox."

On Thursday morning, Jacksonville State University is hosting a demonstration of the technology.

Bunning called the sense of the Congress provision "common sense stuff," and that generated no argument from the director of an environmental group that has criticized the incineration process.

"We are pleased that the Senate has approved this provision and has added its strong voice to the call to better keep workers and citizens safe from these lethal materials," said Craig Williams, director of the Chemical Weapons Working Group.

Besides incinerators that had been activated at Anniston and near Tooele, Utah, others are being tested near Pine Bluff, Ark., and near Hermiston, Ore. The Army has opted to use chemical neutralization as opposed to incineration to destroy nerve agents in Colorado, Indiana, Kentucky and Maryland.